![\"Clients](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785758108_771_STT-L-ALLIED-1-0729.jpg\")
Clients from Allied Services\u2019 Vocational Services Division\u2019s Work Services Program refurbish hangers for Dempsey\u2019s Uniform & Linen Supply in Jessup. (Courtesy Allied Services)<\/p>\nA work services program offered by Allied Services provides individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities more than a chance to earn a paycheck \u2014 it also helps them gain valuable employment and communication skills.<\/p>\n
For more than six decades, Allied has collaborated with local businesses to give their clients hands-on workforce experience through its Vocational Services Division\u2019s Work Services Program.<\/p>\n
Jim Brogna, senior vice president for strategic partnership development at Allied Services, said program participants are matched with appropriate tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do assessments with the individuals to make sure they\u2019re striving to their greatest possible independence, but also supported in a great environment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe 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\u2019re capable of doing and how some of those employees are capable of doing so much more than when they originally started with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brogna believes the employees also value the camaraderie with fellow workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to interact with other friends and colleagues,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of that socialization in those workshops is as important as the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clients from Allied Services\u2019 Vocational Services Division\u2019s Work Services Program refurbish hangers for Dempsey\u2019s Uniform & Linen Supply in Jessup. (Courtesy Allied Services)<\/p>\n
Among Allied\u2019s long-standing business partners is Dempsey\u2019s Uniform & Linen Supply in Jessup, Brogna added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first word that comes to mind is trust,\u201d he said. \u201cIn 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 \u2014 cleaning them, counting them and bundling them \u2014 I don\u2019t know many business partnerships that last 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s vocational program.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur teams are really good at doing assessments and small hand packing of items,\u201d he said. \u201cThey may have a little bolt set that needs to be packed \u2014 and several washers, screws and nuts \u2014 and that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve 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,\u201d Brogna said. \u201cThen there are those who try it out and say the workshop\u2019s not right for me, but there is no risk in that. There\u2019s no loss, it\u2019s just an opportunity to assess the best fit for every individual based on their needs and challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey take pride in their work and they love coming here,\u201d she said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe individuals get to see their finished product being used,\u201d she said. \u201cWith Dempsey\u2019s, it\u2019s not just them cleaning and inspecting the hangers; they might know somebody that utilizes that company. It\u2019s not just what they accomplish here, they get to see it in the community as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A work services program offered by Allied Services provides individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities more than a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[60,201,182,803,28,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-258234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-business","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}