Eddie Works (and his PASS is approved)!

Eddie Arnio has been working 20-24 hours a week at Grafton Farm and Home Supply since late September 2012. Prior to this gig, Eddie’s work history comprised of 6 months at the local—now out of business—sheltered workshop.

Eddie has worked hard at finding a job in Grafton, applying at local corporate and big-box businesses like Wal-Mart and McDonalds every 4 months for the last 6 years. He was told that if he kept applying, kept keeping at it, his efforts would eventually be awarded with a job—using this approach, won’t employers eventually recognize his desire to work, his tenacity and persistence?

After meeting with WVDRS and being referred to Job Squad, Eddie engaged in some Discovery, a few short term work experiences, and a theme of technology or machinery emerged. During his work experiences, Eddie operated a car washing machine, spray washer, and a compactor. We also learned he was interested in automobiles, in part because his dad once drove a cab.

Conversations with others in the community led us to Grafton Farm and Home Supply, which, we learned, had a broken stone mill. The broken mill increased costs—feed that would typically be milled on site now had to be transported to a nearby mill and Grafton Farm and Home Supply had to pay for the feed to be milled, gas and transportation costs, and staff time to transport the feed. With this in mind, Eddie and Southern States began a conversation on how they could help each other. They agreed there would be mutual benefit if a new, negotiated part-time job were created where Eddie would complete numerous tasks, including milling, weighing and bagging feed; making sweet feed; assisting customers to gather orders and transport items to their cars (including straw, feed, barbed wire, and many other items); filling propane tanks, handling chickens (!), and various other tasks. Eddie would also assist with a getting the stone mill running, using a Compensating Balance Loan in partnership with Job Squad and CWVTEL.

Eddie began part-time work, but he wanted to work full-time. Grafton Farm and Home Supply couldn’t offer Eddie full-time work based on existing revenues. Discussions began about other ways Eddie could help the business and centered around a Hydraulic Sprayer that would help the business meet existing needs and also be used to offer additional services and generate new revenue. The owners of Grafton Farm and Home Supply felt they could offer Eddie full-time hours with the additional revenue generated by the sprayer services.

A PASS was submitted--which will enable Eddie to purchase the Hydraulic Sprayer (and a few other items)--at the end of September 2012 and was approved last month (July 2013). Once Eddie purchases the sprayer, his hours will increase.

A follow-up post will focus on Eddie’s PASS, the new services offered by the sprayer, and how the sprayer fits into Eddie’s automobile theme.

Check out this video of Eddie at work: