Lawton Resident Beats Odds to Self-Sufficiency and Paycheck

LAWTON, OK − Just two years ago, Linda Prowell of Lawton was living on disability benefits and social services in low income housing. Diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder, a neurobiological illness with mood and schizophrenic symptoms, she faced 15 hospitalizations, depression and 12-year stretch when disabilities made it impossible to work.

Thanks to support from a “really good employment team,” Prowell is literally back on her feet as a kitchen police worker for Swanson’s Food Service at Fox Dining Hall at Ft. Sill.

“I’m off SSI [Social Security Income] now and can support myself,” Prowell said, “The money I make is mine. And this job is better suited to me than any job I’ve ever had.”

March 9 marked Prowell’s second anniversary at Swanson’s. The steady income from the union position enabled her to move into her own apartment. She quit smoking, a habit acquired at age 13. Last year, Prowell earned the Governor’s Disability Employment Award of Excellence based on her employment success.

Prowell’s employer, A. B. Swanson, is legally blind and frequently hires others with disabilities. His company manages seven restaurants at Ft. Sill with support from the Business Enterprise Program at the Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS).

“Linda enjoys her job, and she wants to be here – wiping tables, doing dishes, mopping floors, everything that needs to be done,” explained Swanson’s Assistant Project Director Debbie Welch. “She is a real go getter who wants to make things better.”

“We feed thousands of soldiers every day and could be serving their last meal before they leave the states,” Swanson’s Project Director Victoria Cantu said. “It’s important that they see a friendly face.”

Prowell credits friends from several agencies and community organizations with helping her “turn things around.”

She began receiving mental health services in 1979 from Jim Taliaferro Community Mental Health Center. The center is a facility of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

“I got on this PACT team. Their job is to keep us out of the hospital and keep us on our medication – get any kind of counseling we might need,” Prowell explained.

PACT is an acronym for Program of Assertive Community Treatment.

Janet Evans, a registered nurse on Taliaferro Center’s PACT Team, referred Linda Prowell to Carolyn Wilkinson, a Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselor at the Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) in Lawton.

“I’ve known Carolyn for many, many years,” Evans said. “Once we get rolling, I can step back and never have to worry. We’re a team – all of us.”

“Last year, VR programs served 12,500 Oklahomans with disabilities and helped 2,246 go to work, which means they don’t need disability benefits and social services,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson, now retired, provided career counseling and tested Prowell to determine which jobs were the best match for her skills and interests. Initially, Prowell chose a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) career. DRS paid for training, job coaching and placement, and related services.

Leona Newton, Employment Training Specialist and Lawton Supervisor for Dale Rogers Training Center, Inc., worked with DRS and Prowell to find a job as a medical assistant in a nursing care facility, but it wasn’t the right fit.

”Linda faced all the traditional barriers to employment for many people with disabilities – housing, transportation, losing funding for medication,” Newton said. “Plus, she did well in the nursing assistant training, but had difficulty passing the certification test, so that held her back.”

Looking for other employment options, Newton encouraged Prowell to complete a job application for Swanson’s Food Service.

“This job is really my cup of tea.” Prowell said. “I was thinking about being a CNA, but this came up, and actually, I’m making more and it’s less back-breaking.”

“Finding great jobs sometimes takes teamwork,” DRS Director Mike O’Brien said. “It may seem like the Department of Mental Health, Taliaferro Center, Dale Rogers, Swanson’s and our agency put a lot of effort into helping Linda Prowell go to work, but now she’s self sufficient and paying taxes. The truth is Linda Prowell deserves the credit for transforming her life.”

Jim Regan, Executive Director of the Taliaferro Center added, “Linda is a shining example to individuals dealing with a mental illness – that where there is hope, there is recovery.”

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