Empowerment is a huge part of the work done by the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD).
You need look no further than the organization’s mission, which is to “support and empower people with developmental disabilities to live, learn, work and play in the community.”
It was with that purpose in mind that Solutions at Work (SAW) Inc. was incorporated back in 1969.
“The purpose was to allow a nonprofit 501(c)3 to be able to do business with regular businesses and issue paychecks to people with disabilities who we train and provide employment opportunities for,” says Rich Hoban, executive director at SAW. “So we work hand-in-glove with all of the staff at the board of developmental disabilities to help people with vocational training and finding jobs in various community settings.”
This effort got a big boost in 2009 when the county agency partnered with New Windsor, New York-based Just-A-Buck.
“It started as a strategic plan with Solutions at Work in 2006 to come up with the right franchise and right business to open and they decided upon Just-A-Buck,” says Kim Pritchard, a regional manager with Just-A-Buck. “There are many things to do throughout the day in a retail store between the cash register, unloading trucks, checking in orders, putting merchandise out and of course, customer service.”
Just-A-Buck opened its first local store in Parma, followed by additional stores in South Euclid and Rocky River.
“The goal was to have a store at different ends of the county that we can use to serve individuals throughout Cuyahoga County,” Pritchard says. “Maybe it’s their first job and they are able to come in to learn soft skills such as coming into work on time, hygiene, customer service or just being able to take direction. Not everybody comes to us with a goal to actually go out and get a job in retail.”
Making a match
CCBDD serves about 4,000 adults in Cuyahoga County with SAW providing assistance to roughly half of that group. It could be in a production facility, a community site or at a store such as Just-A-Buck.
“Our big push in the field is to help people gain competitive employment and work in integrated community settings,” Hoban says. “Gov. (John) Kasich issued an executive order a few years ago called Employment First and basically said that is the first and best choice for any adult with developmental disabilities, that they are able to be integrated into the community, get a job and be as successful as they can be. That is really what we strive to do.”
It takes the support of various people and entities to make that work possible, including the Northeast Ohio business community.
“We really emphasize our partnership and making it a win-win relationship,” Hoban says. “We don’t want to put people in situations where they can’t be successful or be a value to a business. So we are always looking at what the demand for skill sets is out there and trying to bring the right applicants and the right match to those skill sets. It is very much a demand-driven approach.”
Hoban has a team at SAW that works with about 300 different companies putting together opportunities for people to do meaningful work and contribute to the local economy.
“We also have job placement staff members who work for the board who do a lot of one-on-one work talking to the person about what their career plan is and trying to match them up with the right worksite,” Hoban says. “Some of my staff at SAW will also do what I consider more high-touch contact where we try to develop a bigger relationship with a larger employer.”
Creating opportunities
The partnership between SAW and Just-A-Buck continues to blossom. The store in Parma was selected as Business of the Month by the city in 2014 and strong relationships have also been built in South Euclid and Rocky River. Those relationships often take some time and effort since not everyone is familiar with the store’s purpose.
“They don’t understand that everyone waiting on them is a person with a disability,” Pritchard says. “But we want negative feedback if we need to improve upon what we are doing and don’t come off the right way. We want people to walk away with a good experience. I had a customer who walked away in tears because she was so happy for what we are doing.”
People who work at Just-A-Buck are employed and paid by SAW and the goal is not to work in the store permanently.
“Our ultimate goal is to help people get jobs working in industry and working for regular businesses that fit whatever their career path is,” Hoban says. “We’re here to serve people and help them get to where they want to go and develop training programs and work opportunities in support of that.”
To learn more about Solutions at Work Inc. and the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, like their Facebook pages www.facebook.com/sawinc.org and www.facebook.com/CuyahogaBDD.
