AtWork! Stories
Haden Combs interviewed in July with the Washington Square condominium complex in downtown Bellevue for the position of Custodian. He previously worked as a janitor under the AtWork! building maintenance enclave for a few years before it closed operations last summer. Haden was offered this Custodian position and began work on July 24th, earning $11.00 per hour.
Haden currently is on a work schedule of three six-hour days per week. During the interview process and first three days of work, Rick Anderson, Employment Consultant, worked closely with the Maintenance Supervisor, Shawn Schindler, his management staff, and the three other employed custodians. A strong circle of support has been developed with the employer and Haden's parents to ensure success and progress during the regular 90-day new hire probationary period. After two weeks of employment, AtWork! staff have faded from hands on job coaching to only a brief check-in with Haden and staff once per week.
Thus far, Haden has learned to take the Metro bus system to and from work and his home in Kenmore. He continues to be given additional job tasks and has extended his work day from 6 to 8 hours. Specific job tasks include window cleaning, vacuuming, baseboard cleaning and dusting, and properly using various environmentally safe cleaning products.
Bob is a person with limited mobility, due to quadriplegia, who enjoys working with computers. He came to AtWork! right from high school, about 15 years ago. Bob’s father, Doug, has created a personalized interface that allows Bob to interact with a computer. He manages all of his interactions through the use of a head switch on his power wheel chair.
His computer skills have developed over time, as computers have changed, and his dad has been involved in creating interactive programs to meet Bob’s needs. When the internet became accessible, Bob’s world really opened up. The latest version of Bob’s special interface has given him the opportunity to work as a volunteer with FISH (an education service contractor) at the Issaquah Fish Hatchery.
To accomplish this task, Bob first learned Excel. He is now creating a database for FISH that records information about presentations that are made at the hatchery: the presentation, the audience (schools, organizations, government groups) the number of participants, etc. This data will be used to design future presentations. In the past, FISH educational staff kept track of these statistics in a handwritten ledger which made it less accessible. Bob’s contribution has very real practical value to FISH.
Bob’s ultimate dream is to move out of the workshop, into a job that matches his talents. He is a very positive and engaging individual with much to offer and would like a paid position utilizing his computer skills, where he can add value to a business.
Aaron is a big hearted 19-year-old high school student at the Issaquah School District’s Academy for Community Transition who began working with AtWork! through the innovative School-to-Work program of King County DDD.
Aaron's transition team (family, transition teacher, and school support staff) provided invaluable insight and ideas when AtWork! staff first began working with him. After developing a rapport with Aaron and exploring his interests, he began volunteering at Rite-Aid in Issaquah, practicing straightening shoes for one-hour periods of time.
After showing improvement, we approached Issaquah about trying Aaron out as a Courtesy Clerk at $8.25 an hour. Aaron showed some reluctance on the first shift, but he has really begun taking ownership of the job tasks. Diana, the transition teacher, helped devise a check-off board that allows Aaron to see his progress during his work-hour through visual aids.
Aaron continues to learn more in his position of Courtesy Clerk, and he is showing strengths and abilities that were not as evident in the classroom. Whether this is the job he believes will support him in his transition from high school or if there is an even better match down the road, Aaron will continue to explore his interests and develop new job skills with AtWork! and his transition team by his side.
You can see Don coming from clear down the block, with the jaunty flag that is attached to his chair waving with the motion of the motor. Don takes walks around his neighborhood almost every day, especially when the weather is nice and sunny. He likes to visit his local Fred Meyer, Walgreens and Starbucks. Don keeps busy with excursions to Elder and Adult Day Services in Bellevue, physical therapy twice a week, and Bridge Ministry social on Sundays.
Don loves tools and carries his tool belt everywhere he goes. He has a hobby of collecting tool boxes and hard hats. He also loves boats, tractors, and big machinery, and he has posters of container boats given to him by his brother Clay, who works at the Port of Vancouver in Canada.
Don and his Employment Consultant have been exploring Don’s interests. He visited Kevin McCorkle at City Radiator & Auto Repair and watched him working on a Crown Victoria. He has also been on tours of the hardware department at Sears and to the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union. Don enjoys these outings and has often suggested other places he’d like to visit. Each outing gives Don and his EC more information that will help to discover employment options to explore.
AtWork! Pathways have circles and spirals, too. It’s easier and a lot more fun to navigate a Pathway with a “circle of support” to help with twists and turns, as sometimes people are working or volunteering fewer hours. They need other activities that help them have a happy life and move towards increased independence.
Don worked in the Bellevue workshop for 15 years. He began volunteering at the Hopelink Food Bank in Kirkland on October 25th, 2007. He volunteers every Wednesday morning, helping to sort and bag produce. Don is part of the regular Wednesday crowd. He likes to joke and laugh while he works and is always motivated to help. Lacey Ethier, his Employment Consultant, said, “The whole crew cracks up at Don’s favorite joke. Don’s dexterity has improved so he can laugh with his teammates by pretending to roll the apples he is bagging off the end of the table. He always makes sure they land in someone’s hands or lap.” No bruises on those apples! Don loves a good laugh with his friends. His stamina and dexterity improve with every visit.
Don goes to music lessons on Tuesdays, Boy Scouts on Thursdays, and EADS (an adult daycare and respite center in Bellevue) two times a week. His long term career goals include working in the community handing out flyers at sporting events or the zoo or samples at restaurants. Don loves to be busy and interact with people, so any activities that help him to get involved seem to bring him joy. Don doesn’t use many words to communicate, his smile says it all.
Margie lives with her mother Ann. She works part-time at Auntie Ann’s Pretzels in Northgate Mall as a Sampler, which means she encourages passing shoppers to try different varieties of pretzels. Margie also has a second part-time job at Red Robin, where she rolls silverware in napkins, lines food baskets with paper, polishes the brass railings and ties ribbons on balloons. Both jobs require that Margie have a food handler’s permit. To get to and from work, Margie takes an Access bus.
Why does this sound so amazing? Margie is a 41-year-old woman with Down Syndrome. Her disability began as a roadblock to a self-sufficient life after high school. Margie entered AtWork!’s sheltered workshop in Kenmore and was employed there for 21 years. With the help of an AtWork! Employment Consultant, Margie got her first community job in 2004 at Auntie Ann’s, where she is still employed today.
Margie pays her mother room and board and uses her money to go to the movies, rent and buy videos, and save up to go to summer camp. Last year she went on a trip arranged by Volunteers of America to Disneyland.
Maybe this story isn’t so amazing after all. Margie proves she is just as able as anyone else to have a happy and fulfilling life. If you ask Margie what her best qualities are, she will say she’s a great worker, a caring person, she contributes to the community, and she’s a great cook. If you ask us, we’d say her best quality is her ABILITY to be a wonderful human being!
“Richard works so fast we sometimes have to help him understand that he has to wait for others to complete their part of the process so he doesn’t get way ahead of everyone,” Brenda Frost said with a smile. Brenda is the Human Resource Manager for the Oberto Sausage Company of Kent. Richard was the first person placed by AtWork! with Oberto as a part of our partnership with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVR) and Project SEARCH, a national organization that has pioneered a new employment strategy for people with disabilities. Our agreement includes placing five to seven individuals in jobs at Oberto within the first year of the project.
Richard’s job is customized to match his skills and interests. He works in the warehouse unpacking boxes of packaged meat, loading them into large bins lined with plastic, then breaking down the cardboard boxes and stuffing them into the bailer where they are bailed for recycle. He has been successfully employed full time, with full benefits, at Oberto’s Kent facility since November 2007. He’s very happy to be receiving medical benefits and has even started a 401K savings account. At our 2008 summer barbecue, Richard said his big plan is “to work on the dry side [packaging] for seven years, then work on the wet side [processing] for seven years and then retire.”
“I like it here. I like the people, I make more money, and it’s fun.”
Ryan has a new job. He began working at the McDonald’s in Tukwila on October 12th. He can tell you the day because he was so excited, nervous, but ready for a new challenge.
AtWork! began serving Ryan when he transitioned from his high school program. He lives in Kent but made the daily commute to the Kenmore shop for several years. He then worked in Bellevue in the production shop and finished up his career with AtWork! enterprises in our Issaquah facility. Each move was a bit closer to home and another step on his pathway to employment. Now, Ryan has a job in the community at McDonald’s and is the best french fry cook in the McDonald’s system.
If you’ve ever visited a busy McDonald’s restaurant over the noon hour, you know how fast and furious the employees are working to get food cooked and out to customers. Having someone there to make sure the french fries are always cooked and ready for waiting orders is vital during the hectic noon rush.
Ryan works two to three hours a day, keeping up with the french fries. Focusing on just one part of a job helps Ryan be successful. To his co-workers, Ryan is more than the french fry cook. They like him. They’re teaching him Spanish, and Ryan is helping them to understand that people with disabilities can contribute and make a difference in the workplace.
Scott is 49 years old. He lives in North Seattle in his own apartment and works five days a week. Scott is a man with Autism.
Scott has received services from AtWork! for 22 years, first as a production worker at the Kenmore facility and then as a recycling crew worker at the Issaquah Recycling Center. In January 2006, he got his first community job at The University Bookstore, cleaning the break room and restrooms, vacuuming the computer store, washing windows, and collecting the recycling. He commutes to work using Seattle’s Metro Transit. Thanks to his community employment, Scott is able to continue to live independently.
If you ask Scott what he likes best about his job, he would say vacuuming, yet Scott is fascinated with computers. Sometimes, when he works, he will stop vacuuming and walk over to see what a computer is doing. There are possibilities waiting for him on the other side of that curiosity. With the help of his Employment Consultant and others in his circle of support, Scott may one day do more than just look at the computers.
Scott uses his new income to pay for community outings like swimming, having coffee and attending movies with friends. He also loves languages and conversation and buys language tapes. Scott is currently saving for a trip to Mexico in the fall, so you can be sure he’s practicing his Spanish.
