Bad Day? Hire Sunshine!

It is Monday afternoon. You have just made it through most of the worst day, with 2 hours to go. Time to take that break. As you walk angrily down the hall to clear your head, a sweet and happy voice brings you back to reality. “Hey Katie! How is your day?” That one question from this one man brings you to a place of happiness.

I have everything I need in my life, and I let the little things get under my skin. But here is this man, who comes to work every day just happy to be there, never sad, never a bad word about anyone, and lives every day like it is the best day ever. He is Arthur, the bringer of sunshine and smiles to everyone he talks to. He is also someone that many people may judge because of his disabilities. I know he is judged because I have seen the looks of new hires and visitors in the building. He and his co-workers all get those looks. The look of sorrow as if they are saying “how sad.”

Arthur and his team, about sixteen men and women, are the highlight and the heart of STEPS, Inc. I bet you cannot find Arthur in the pictures below. He is the one with the infectious smile. Oh, wait they all do. 😊

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STEPS, Inc, is the community action group for eleven counties and their mission is simple. STEPS leads, coordinates, creates, and delivers quality opportunities to impact self-sufficiency and reduce poverty throughout our region. In 1990, they began working to provide job training and employment opportunities to people with disabilities. Transportation, training, and job placement is all part of the process. Case workers meet with the participants monthly to find out how things are going, if there are any issues, and help them with training to improve their job skills.

Supported Employment, what is it, you might ask. It is a program that helps people with various mental and physical disabilities learn the necessary skills to help them obtain employment that pays a competitive wage. Sounds easy enough, right? Then why the need? Many businesses just do not know that these hard working people are out there ready to make a difference in their company and lives.

The true joy is just seeing how happy being employed is to those who are normally overlooked because some employers doubt their abilities. Speech impairments, physical, and mental disabilities are the range of characteristics that make them special, but it also makes them the hardest working group of people. They are never late. They never complain about the job or their co-workers. They love what they do and love when they receive the recognition they so rightly deserve. With the way the workforce is these days, it is hard to find employees without disabilities to dedicate themselves to a job without asking for the sun and the moon in return.

I see them daily working in two separate areas: recycling and shred. They work in the yard in the rain and snow to make sure the recycling is sorted and ready for transport. They work the shredding machine to make sure any document that is brought in to be destroyed is done so properly.

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In the next five weeks, my plan is to get you; the employer, and the community, to get excited about the program that is so underestimated and underutilized. My plan is to get you interested in a program that helps those with disabilities move to a living wage and feel that sense of independence that we take for granted every day.

Let’s get excited that there is an untapped source of workers, who want to work and can make a difference in the lives of those around them. Want to see an example? I know you do! Meet Dana – the self-proclaimed boss of the secured shred department.

Coming soon – the employer benefits, the bias of disabilities, and success stories of hiring that sunshine, and how can you become a partner with STEPS, Inc.