October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.  If you are unemployed, it's tough enough these days trying to find a job. Now, add to that a disability.

In Little Rock there's a program that's helping Arkansans get back on their feet and back in the workforce.

"I want to be a teacher because I like to help people. I like to help children." It's a dream Stephanie Baker has had for decades, teaching young children. "I also believe that if i can reach a child while they are young, they won't be on the street corners."

And if anyone can teach from experience, it's Stephanie. Raised in foster homes in Missouri, she came to Arkansas on a scholarship to Philander Smith College, only to have her dreams taken away by a devastating car accident 28 years ago.

"We hit a dead cow in the road. The results of that accident left me paralyzed from the waist down," she says. Stephanie found herself unemployed, homeless and confined to a wheelchair. But now at 51 years old, she's determined to get her life back, with the help of Goodwill Industries.

"There's so many challenges already imagine having to overcome the obstacle of a disability or a disadvantage."

Since opening their Career Services Center on August 27th, Goodwill has served more than 180 Arkansans. Offering everything from training to resume building and computer and interviewing skills, Goodwill is helping to put people just like Stephanie back in the workforce.

"The revenue that comes from our retail stores, from the donations, are going to help people just like Stephanie, going to people who have disabilities and disadvantages reach their highest potential through employment services, training and education."

"They have helped me to set some values and set some goals in life and to find myself again. Not to look at myself as just a handicapped person. I am beautifully made. I am awesome," Stephanie says.

Stephanie has managed to finish college. She is now working on her teacher certification and hopes to one day fulfill that dream that started more than 30 years ago.

Click here for more information about the Career Services Center at Goodwill Industries.