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Meet MCB Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Counselors. The following video features three individuals seated in an office conference room, each speaking to the camera about their experiences with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind or MCB. They’re Vocational Rehabilitation or VR counselors employed by MCB. Speakers include (in order): Kara Sittig, Mayanne McDonald-Briggs, and Brittany Taylor (MCB VR Counselors).
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Kara Sittig: Anyone over the age of 14 and up to around 65 or 70, if they are determined legally blind with their optometrist or ophthalmologist, their doctor is mandated to declare them legally blind and register them with the Mass Commission for the Blind.
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Mayanne McDonald-Briggs: So the services that MCB provides to 14 to 22-year-old students are pre-employment transition services that cover things like self-advocacy training, counseling on enrollment opportunities for post-secondary education or training at institutions of higher education, workplace readiness training, soft skills, getting kids ready for their first job, as well as work based learning experiences.
01:18
Brittany Taylor: What makes a counselor effective is meeting the client where they're at, and being able to empathize with exactly what they're going through. When I first meet a client, I'm not trying to shove information down their throat. Of course, they're looking for resource and I'm happy to provide it, but I'm happy to also have a conversation about them. Who are you? What are your goals? What do you want from MCB? What can I provide to you?
01:42
Mayanne McDonald-Briggs: The number one thing I can do for families is to be an advocate, being a part of their IEP team, being a part of, you know, the relationship with the schools as well as the providers, and making sure that we have a connection.
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Kara Sittig: You really just want to earn that trust, and them to know that, one, you're coming into their home and you’re a state worker, you know, it's not that scary. But that you're a human too and that you're able to just, we can…I can talk to you like I would want someone to talk to my mom, or my family member who's going through the same thing.
02:14
Mayanne McDonald-Briggs: No matter what their path is, whether it's wanting to go to a college, or any kind of post-secondary education, or if they want to go into a career field, the most important things are being able to advocate for themselves in any given situation and explaining what they might need to be successful to a variety of people.
02:34
Kara Sittig: The consistent DNA of someone who works and MCB is empathy, for sure.
02:39
Brittany Taylor: I don't know one person that works here that doesn't care about the end goal or the result of our consumers. You know, sometimes I walk into client's homes, and you know, their husband is excited to see me and hugs me and asks me how my family is doing, and you're just extended part of the family. And yeah, when you're able to get in that way, it just makes it so much easier on both of us to provide services.
03:04
Kara Sittig: What keeps me coming back is that every day is different, every person is different, and to see them on paper with a diagnosis, and being scared and apprehensive, to then seeing someone embrace everything that's offered to them and taking advantage of it and living a whole new life, is just really admirable to see people live that way.
03:26
Mayanne McDonald-Briggs: I'm blessed every day that I get to meet these students in these families and figure out how we can really impact their lives. And watching them progress and watching them grow, oh, just…it's everything.
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To learn more about and contact the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, find them online at mass.gov. Or call 800-392-6450.