A work services program offered by Allied Services provides individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities more than a chance to earn a paycheck — it also helps them gain valuable employment and communication skills.
For more than six decades, Allied has collaborated with local businesses to give their clients hands-on workforce experience through its Vocational Services Division’s Work Services Program.
Jim Brogna, senior vice president for strategic partnership development at Allied Services, said program participants are matched with appropriate tasks.
“We do assessments with the individuals to make sure they’re striving to their greatest possible independence, but also supported in a great environment,” he said. “We have something for everybody across the continuum in our vocational program. For the adults in our workshop, the employees are just happy to earn whatever their pay is. We also have partnerships with local businesses, and we do everything from packaging, sorting, to production work. We learn what they’re capable of doing and how some of those employees are capable of doing so much more than when they originally started with us.”
Brogna believes the employees also value the camaraderie with fellow workers.
“They want to interact with other friends and colleagues,” he said. “Some of that socialization in those workshops is as important as the work.”
Clients from Allied Services’ Vocational Services Division’s Work Services Program refurbish hangers for Dempsey’s Uniform & Linen Supply in Jessup. (Courtesy Allied Services)
Among Allied’s long-standing business partners is Dempsey’s Uniform & Linen Supply in Jessup, Brogna added.
“The first word that comes to mind is trust,” he said. “In the beginning, they trusted us when we did the time study. Looking at what our employees are able to do in terms of the assessment of every hanger — cleaning them, counting them and bundling them — I don’t know many business partnerships that last 15 years.”
Brogna also pointed to a partnership with Circle Bolt and Nut in Kingston, formerly in Pittston, as a win-win for both the business and the clients in Allied’s vocational program.
“Our teams are really good at doing assessments and small hand packing of items,” he said. “They may have a little bolt set that needs to be packed — and several washers, screws and nuts — and that’s very monotonous work for a lot of people. But our team looks at it as an opportunity to demonstrate their consistency and expertise with minimum to no errors. We do it more cost efficiently than almost anyone can do.”
Additionally, individuals may choose to work in vocational centers in Scranton and Stroudsburg, where the program prepares them for success through job training, communication and social skills development, and functional life skills.
“We’ve had many workshop successes; some employees have been working there for 45-plus years, and several have worked there for a few years and graduated out to community employment,” Brogna said. “Then there are those who try it out and say the workshop’s not right for me, but there is no risk in that. There’s no loss, it’s just an opportunity to assess the best fit for every individual based on their needs and challenges.”
Margy Fiscus, executive director of vocational services for Allied Services, who oversees programs in Scranton and the Poconos, stressed the work opportunities give the employees a larger sense of purpose.
“They take pride in their work and they love coming here,” she said. “It gives them a sense of independence, and they build confidence and lasting friendships. It helps them to have something other than just going to day programs.”
Erin Yesalavage, director of vocational services at Allied Services in Scranton, noted the local business partnerships also allow workers to get a firsthand look at the impact of their labor.
“The individuals get to see their finished product being used,” she said. “With Dempsey’s, it’s not just them cleaning and inspecting the hangers; they might know somebody that utilizes that company. It’s not just what they accomplish here, they get to see it in the community as well.”