Community Employment Opens
New Horizons
In
the nine months Gabe has been employed by Pizza Hut, he has earned the Most
Valuable Player award for his job performance, twice. His Community Employment Manager Louis Moses
found Gabe his job after noticing his skills when he came to work at SRVS
Industries in August of 2011. “Gabe is
very people oriented, likes repetition and can multi-task,” said Moses. He was the perfect candidate for a job
opening at Pizza Hut, a company that actively employs people with
disabilities.
Moses assessed Gabe’s abilities
and matched them to the job. He
accompanied Gabe throughout his orientation and training and introduced Gabe to
his manager Cherish Mathis. “Gabe is
definitely an asset to the company. He
is passionate about his work and energetic,” says Mathis. “I don’t know why
anyone would not hire a person with a disability. They are the most timely, enthusiastic
employees and they love to work. They
don’t have to work, they want to work.”
“I
don’t know why anyone would not hire a person with a disability.”
In
addition to having a job, Gabe lives in a SRVS home and receives assistance
from a DSP. Having a job and a roommate
opened up new worlds of engagement for him and his family. “SRVS gave Gabe the supports he needed that
we could not give him at home including the intangible gift of building
relationships and friendships in the community which enrich his life,” says
Laura Tumminello, Gabe’s mother. “SRVS
saved his life and gave me fellowship with other family members going through
similar challenges.”
SRVS
Community Employment Services Program provides job assessment, placement and
follow-along services to individuals who desire work in the community. During the fiscal year, 16 job seekers were employed. SRVS Industries partnered with 36 companies
to employ 110 people supported at the workshop (see the Business Recognition
section). SRVS entered into negotiations
with DIDD to participate in the national Employment First Initiative. Community
Employment Services Director Donna Palmer and SRVS Industries Director Troy Allen
served on various state employment committees, partnered with Vanderbilt
University’s Tennessee Works Partnerships, developed an experiential work site
at Delta Medical Center, and coordinated a Disability Mentoring Day with
Memphis City Schools. Palmer won the Arc
of the Mid-South’s Professional Achievement Award and SRVS became a member of
the State of Tennessee Employment Consortium.
Back to Community Employment Services