OVR counselors to hold outreach in Koblerville tomorrow

On July 26, Saturday, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation counselors will be making their way to the Koblerville Youth Learning Center to conduct orientation, do intake, and entertain applications for vocational rehabilitation services. This outreach event will take place from 9am to 12pm.

Individuals interested in applying for vocational rehabilitation services are encouraged to take advantage of this outreach activity. Normally, orientation and intakes are conducted at the OVR office on Navy Hill on Tuesdays at 9am. However, in an effort to make available and accessible services to unserved or underserved populations, OVR has implemented a new initiative whereby counselors will be dispatched to distant villages on Saipan to do outreach and intake every month.

According to OVR and the State Rehabilitation Council’s newly-released comprehensive statewide needs assessment final report, “The distant villages [on] Saipan were also consistently identified as being underserved. Outreach to these villages has been limited in the past due to their distance and the limited number of OVR staff to do this kind of outreach. Conversely, potential consumers that live in the distant villages [on] Saipan do not travel to the OVR office, contributing to the limited number of people being served in these areas.”

An applicant is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services if the individual: 1) is an individual with a disability, and; 2) has a physical or mental impairment which for such individual constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment and can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from vocational rehabilitation services, and; 3) requires vocational rehabilitation services to prepare for, secure, or retain employment; and 4) has legal status to allow employment in the CNMI or U.S.

OVR is indebted to the following individuals/organization(s) for their logistical support for the upcoming July 26 outreach at the Koblerville Youth Learning Center: Diana T. Camacho, Ayuda Network executive director & SRC fiscal officer; Michael C. Manglona, special assistant for Youth Affairs, Office of the Governor; and Vernon I. Manglona, acting Koblerville Youth Learning Center program coordinator

The Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority provides transportation services for a standard fee of $5 per person per ride with a discounted price of $3 per ride for persons with disabilities and the elderly age 55 and over. Please schedule your ride in advance by calling COTA at 664-2690.

For more information about the outreach activity or OVR’s programs and services, contact OVR at (670) 322-6537/8; TTY: (670) 322-6449; fax: (670) 322-6536; email: nmidir@ovrgov.net; or P.O. Box 501521 Saipan, MP 96950. (OVR)