Location, location, location. We hear it all the time in real estate. Location is important, certainly when shopping for a home. It’s also an important consideration when searching for a job. Do you battle a long city commute for that big office with a view, or opt to avoid traffic by working closer to home? The job itself, what work is being done, is a key factor when making such a decision, of course; but I’d argue that where the work is being done can be just as significant, especially in the field of employment supports for people with disabilities.
During a visit last month at Creative Print Products, a partner for community integrated employment, I overheard an individual supported by The Arc of Opportunity’s Employment Services program mention to a coworker, new to that work group, how much he enjoyed his new work environment.
Prompted by that dialogue, I conducted an impromptu survey, polling that group of about a dozen by a show of hands who preferred performing fulfillment work at Creative Print Products, alongside their staff, rather than “back at our building on the work floor.” Hands promptly went up and the response was unanimous—one individual even raised two hands. Next I asked, “And who likes this work but would prefer doing it back in our building on the work floor?” All hands busily returned to work; no arms were up. In that moment I was again reminded of why location is so important to the people supported by our Employment Services.
Through our support of a diversity of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, each uniquely abled and disabled, such as we all are, one thing is certainly clear: we’re privileged to work with and support sharp, driven, self-aware individuals who are able to strongly advocate for themselves and others. Talking separately with folks, the importance of location for vocation further formed.
The center-based work floor has been a positive answer to employment for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in the past, but as we live our fundamentals to embrace change—and change is indeed a constant—we’re better able to step back and recognize the progressive positives in the big picture. When performing fulfillment, assembly or specialty work at our building or a similar human service facility, a client is aware that she or he is under the roof of an adult day support program. When out in the community, at a partner employer site, that individual is aware, perhaps first and foremost, that he or she is, plain and simple, at work. It creates a more normative experience to enhance the quality of life.
Recently Creative Print Products hosted Mayor Mazzarella and staff from City Hall, along with Mary Heafy, President and CEO of The Arc of Opportunity, to the Leominster-based business for a tour, to visit with staff that include our work groups, and learn more about how our partnership for community integrated employment might serve as a model for others. During that visit, we discreetly prompted visitors if they could tell with any certainty who among the workforce were direct employees of Creative Print Products and who were clients supported by our programming; the simple honest answer was no.
Shortly after that visit, a member of the customer service staff at Creative Print Products remarked to me of our work group, “I couldn’t imagine not having them here. They’re like part of the family now.” When I shared that line with one of the dedicated Creative Print Products workers supported by our program, she readily echoed that sentiment with a satisfied smile.