Program offers job lifeline to York County man

Powers works in the dish room at A&R Rental Center in Springettsbury Township, where he cleans dishes, goblets and other items rented out for parties and weddings.

He makes sure every item leaves without a trace of dirt, but his fastidiousness is interspersed with humorous comments. “I sometimes like to entertain people,” he said.

Powers tries to find a kind word for everyone, but life hasn’t always been kind to him.

The 29-year old Maryland native struggles with dual intellectual disabilities that, during the darkest period of his life, left him homeless in York County.

Through the assistance of an employment program run by the nonprofit Penn-Mar Human Services, Powers has embarked on a journey that has been demanding, but ultimately rewarding.

Building a bridge

Most people with a disability in Pennsylvania are likely to be without work.

The state has a 63.6 percent unemployment rate for working-age individuals with disabilities, according to the 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, an annual report filed by various federal agencies. In January 2019, the unemployment rate for the general population in the state was 4 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.

The discrepancy comes as no surprise to Andrea Farney, a labor rights attorney with the Marietta-based Triquetra law firm.

Employers may fear people with disabilities won’t be able to perform the job, she said. But, she added: “You don’t want to assume what people can and can’t do. You want to work with them.”

While many people with intellectual disabilities cannot work, she said, those who can deserve the opportunity.

People who find work through a program such as Penn-Mar’s may be at an advantage because they have someone to facilitate their relationship with an employer and to advocate for them, Farney said.

Powers, who has been diagnosed with autism and post-traumatic disorder, is one of 169 people being served by Penn-Mar Human Services in York County, and one of 52 in its customized employment program.

Penn-Mar was formed in 1980 by a group of families from Maryland and Pennsylvania who were concerned about the future of their children with intellectual disabilities, according to Jackie Stevens, Penn-Mar’s CEO.

Although special needs classes were available to children in school, there were few resources to assist them in adjusting to adulthood, she said.

Penn-Mar, which is headquartered in Freeland, Maryland, works with individuals and families on both side of the Maryland-Pennsylvania line.

The goal of the nonprofit organization is to assist individuals with disabilities in developing life skills, identify their talents to match them with appropriate employment, and if necessary, provide a home.

The program has expanded over the years to offer residential homes, day program centers, a respite center in Jefferson, vocational training and a customized employment program.

R.J.’s story

Most York County consumers are referred to Penn-Mar through the York-Adams Mental Health, Intellectual and Disabilities program or through the state’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Powers did not.

“I came here with only a backpack and a duffle bag,” he said.

Although Powers had participated in several work programs, any progress he had made crumbled in 2012 when he endured a brief stint of homelessness.

“I lost everything. I went through a phase,” he said.

He spent a week in Penn-Mar’s respite center until a spot was found for him in a group home.

“It was rough those days,” he said.

The subsequent years have been a period of pushing boundaries that culminated in psychological growth for Powers as he learned to manage his conditions and gain work and life skills.

Despite his hard-fought gains, Powers felt the need to do more, so he advocated for one-on-one assistance from a staff member. Now he sets his own agenda.

“It’s fun being with a one on one. She helps me not to fail,” he said.

An employer’s perspective

John Markias, A&R Rental Center’s operations manager and Powers’ supervisor, said he had been aware of Penn-Mar’s workforce program for years before he decided to participate. A&R Rental Center is a small party supply business with 12 employees, many of whom are employed seasonally during the spring and summer.

Like many small businesses, the rental center found it hard to compete with the salaries and benefit packages offered by larger companies.

“In the current economy, it’s been difficult to get people who want to work,” he said.

Markias said that anyone with a good work ethic should be given a chance, so he reached out to Penn-Mar with a job description and the skills required to fill it. In a few weeks, he was matched with Powers, who filled out the application and went through the same interview process as other candidates.

The manager said that, while he was confident that Powers could handle the position, he was initially concerned that he would need extra supervision. He was grateful to learn that a Penn-Mar staff member would be assigned to Powers to help him stay on task.

“It didn’t take much more effort in training him than any other employee,” Markias said.

Making a match

The key to the kind of success Powers has had is matching a skill set to the needs of employers, Stevens said.

When matching a consumer to a job, Penn-Mar begins a four to six-week process of “exploration and discovery.” Consumer is the word Penn-Mar uses to describe the people it helps

Consumers are matched with support coordinators who gauge their strengths and talents. Some consumers have to start from the beginning by learning basic job skills, but for others, it’s just a matter of matching their talents to a business’ needs, she said.

Sometimes, consumers will participate in job interviews, not necessarily for a particular job, but to gain experience and allow their support coordinators to observe them in a professional setting.

Many consumers participate in time-limited work experiences to see if the they like the job they’re considering, she said.

“It’s a pretty robust process,” she said.

About 33 York County employers participate in Penn-Mar’s program and the nonprofit is seeking to expand its network, according to Stevens.

Stevens said that the program has grown mostly by word of mouth, as participating employers inform others about the opportunity.

“People know people,” she said.

The nonprofit also tries to build relationships by remaining active in organizations such as rotary clubs and business associations, Stevens said.

Individuals who find employment through Penn-Mar work in a variety of fields, from child care and customer service to engineering and manufacturing.

Penn-Mar spokesperson John Xuereb said the program can help employers find people for hard-to-fill positions.

“With the employment rate so low, employers are looking outside of the traditional hiring pool and discovering the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities,” Xuereb said.

A life changed

Margaret Markline, Penn-Mar employment support coordinator, has witnessed the change in Powers once he found a job he enjoys.

“R.J. is always a very positive person. He finds the good in people. He’s a hard worker, very dedicated,” she said.

Although Powers works only two days a week, he is looking forward to the business’ peak season in spring and summer, where he will works five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Each day, he comes to work with a to-do list, which includes washing and storing dishes, glassware, goblets, bowls and utensils that are returned by customers so they’re ready for rental again. He knows his job is important, because if unclean or broken items are rented out to customers, it would be bad for business.

“I’m job security,” he said with a laugh.

He also has the assistance of a support worker to guide him through frustrating situations, such as forgetting a task at work.

When he’s not working, he can be found volunteering at the York County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, participating in Special Olympics, taking science courses and throwing parties at the group home for his friends.

“My friends bring out the best in me,” he said.

Above all, he likes to help people feel better, so much so that he specializes in finding inspirational quotes for them, or “tips,” as he calls them.

Every night, Powers finds quotes he thinks would be meaningful for the people he cares about. He types them up, prints them out and hands them to everyone – his friends, co-workers, support managers, and employers. His supervisor currently has eight in her office, he said.

If Powers had the opportunity to give a “tip” to a person who was in his situation in 2012, he knows exactly what he would say, and it would come packaged with his signature brand of hard-won optimism.

“I’d tell that person that in every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. There’s nothing you can’t do; it’s about what you haven’t done yet,” he said