YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Joel Ellks moves among the machines at Afterburner FX, checking to ensure they’re set up to perform well.
She’s a utility worker, doing whatever needs to be done. Like her coworkers at the Hubbard, Ohio, business, Ellks rotates between jobs at the company. There’s a lot to learn at the business that makes promotional items using embroidery, direct to garment printing and laser engraving.
That can be frustrating, but it’s also rewarding, Ellks says.
“I’m the kind of person that likes seeing a physical reward,” she adds. “[Like] when something is done and it looks great after the revision process – after putting together all the scrap pieces and then getting it all finished – [and] the finished product [looks] perfect.”
Jim Marinucci, managing member at Afterburner, hired Ellks and another worker, Taylor Wilkinson, through Rick Mistovich, community employment liaison at the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Both Ellks and Wilkinson are on the autism spectrum.
Marinucci, who had been having a hard time finding employees for the business, reached out after attending an event where a speaker talked about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities.
Ellks started full time at Afterburner FX about three months ago and Wilkinson, who is updating the company’s website and online store and handling its social media, started part time about a month ago.
Adding Value
Marinucci is happy with their work and what they add to the business.
“They bring a lot to the table,” he says. “They’re just pleasant people. They seem happy to be here. I hope they feel the same way about us as we feel about them.”
Wilkinson, who formerly worked as a software developer for a medical company says she’s enjoying her work at Afterburner FX.
“I feel like it’s a lot less stressful here mostly because where I worked before was very corporate,” she says.
Mistovich at the Trumbull BDD says when an individual is interested in community employment, the first step is getting the agency’s support services administrators involved. They ask about the person’s interests and refer them to the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. The state and county work with outside providers selected by the individuals to find employment and to secure transportation when needed.
Many people with disabilities work at workshops in their respective counties. But about 10 years ago, the law was changed, and county boards of developmental disabilities no longer operate the workshops. Private companies operate them.
To find community employment, an outside provider conducts an assessment of the individual to determine their interests and their strengths before contacting potential employers. A coach from the provider works with the individual when they start a job, helping them learn what’s involved. Mistovich says that alleviates the burden of the employer doing it.
Benefits
Having a job in the community benefits an individual more than just economically, Mistovich says. He recalls one young man who told him he wanted to cook. The man visited a fast-food restaurant to see if he was a good fit to work there.
“They interviewed him, hired him and he actually came out of his shell,” Mistovich explains. “He was talking more. He was doing so many different things. It was just a really, really wonderful thing.”
Bill Whitacre, superintendent of the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, says transportation to and from work is often an issue for people with disabilities. Their schedules don’t always align with public transit. And people who live in more rural areas may not have access.
“They’re trying to make improvements in the state of Ohio under our system, to maybe incentivize providers to pick up that transportation,” he says.
Employers are generally receptive to the idea of employing disabled individuals.
“I can tell you, in my entire career, I have never had anyone react in a way, like, ‘Why are you calling me about this?’” he says.
But for the employment to work, it has to benefit the employer as well.
“We should not look at our prospect for employment as if it’s just a ‘feel good’ to hire people with disabilities,” Whitacre says. “It’s got to be a win-win for the person with disabilities and for the employer.”
Some companies, too, have policies of inclusivity, he says, pointing to Giant Eagle and Walgreens as examples. A large corporation with extensive resources may be better equipped to employ individuals with disabilities than a smaller company.
Expanding Inclusivity
Most people that work with the BDD and secure employment in the community work in food service, janitorial, packaging or light industrial.
“But we really have tried to expand people’s thoughts about inclusivity in the community and the jobs that individuals with developmental disabilities can do and not think of limitations based,” Whitacre says.
Rather than assessing people to determine their deficits, the model is changing across the country to assess their strengths, the superintendent explains.
“It’s just trying to frame the questions differently, and I think we have to continue to try and push that in the larger community,” he says. “Let’s ask what people can do. Let’s not focus on what they can’t do.”
Shirley Bowald, employment and community inclusion manager at the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities, says the number of people with disabilities employed in that county declined during the pandemic.
“We’ve been working our way back up ever since and I think it’s pretty close to where it was prior to the pandemic at this point,” she says. “But I think there’s still a lot more movement that needs to happen because we’d like to see more of our clients be employed.”
Like in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, Columbiana relies on providers for transportation and for job developers. People’s ability to work depends on that availability.
As with anyone, when a person with a disability finds the right job, they benefit.
“It’s fantastic for them,” Bowald says. “You have a sense of purpose, and you have a sense of accomplishment, and you feel a part of the community. You make friends and you become a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.”
But the individual isn’t the only beneficiary.
“I think it’s a tremendous benefit to the employer because you’ve got somebody who wants to be there, you’ve got somebody who’s dedicated, you’ve got somebody reliable,” Bowald says. “And people with disabilities are just people. They want the same things that everybody else wants.”
The Right Fit
As the community engagement manager at MASCO Inc. in Boardman and at Portage Industries Inc. in Ravenna, Lisa Shaffer said the organization is beginning an initiative called career discovery for individuals with disabilities. She works with people in Mahoning, Trumbull and Portage counties.
People with disabilities still work in the workshops, which are now operated by the private company. The workers at MASCO in Mahoning County assemble clamps as well as other piece work for area companies. But Shaffer tries to find employment for them in the community too.
She gets creative to find the right fit. She recalls one individual who wanted to work with cars. But much of that work requires schooling and certifications. She approached a collision repair company who decided to give the individual a chance, sanding vehicle doors and fenders in preparation for painting.
“And they ended up hiring him,” Shaffer says.
Six years ago, she helped Duayne Lomax of Austintown get a job at Dunkin’ in Struthers where he works Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He works at the workshop Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Lomax works in maintenance at the store, cleaning the bathrooms and the parking lot and taking out the trash. He likes the job.
“It’s alright,” Lomax says. “People are nice.”
His favorite part is talking to customers. And going to work makes him feel good about himself, he says. Lomax also appreciates that he earns more money at Dunkin’ than at his previous jobs.
Before working at Afterburner FX, Ellks worked part time. She appreciates that she’s able to work more hours at Afterburner and to earn more than minimum wage. But it’s hard work too.
“But I will say I feel like I get more done at the end of the day than I did at previous jobs because I worked mostly customer service positions,” Ellks says.
There’s a lot to learn and she hasn’t mastered all of it yet, but she likes learning.
Marinucci and his daughter, Dana Marinucci, say it takes everyone a long time to learn the job, pointing to the various steps.
“Taylor is handling our web stuff and is very good at it,” Dana says. “That’s her skill. Joel is super-enthusiastic, which is great, because you don’t always get that.”
Ellks wishes more employers would give people with disabilities a chance like Afterburner FX has.
“There’s definitely a misconception that the developmentally disabled are all unintelligent, and that’s not the case,” she says, pointing out that she has a bachelor’s degree. “A lot of people have that misconception that we’re difficult to work with and hard to employ and difficult to keep. But a lot of us are really dedicated, and we have things that we’re good at that some people might not even think about …”
Pictured at top: Joel Ellks, Jim Marinucci and Taylor Wilkinson stand in front of embroidery equipment at Afterburner FX in Hubbard. Marinucci is a managing member at Afterburner FX, and Ellks and Wilkinson work there.