posted
on Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Perched at a table with her Village Inn uniform on, Becky showed off her 1-year pin with pride and shared with a smile, "I celebrated one whole year here and I love it."
For the last year, three days per week, Becky comes in and greets customers, gets drinks for them, busses tables, and ultimately is a friendly face that many regular customers have grown to love. According to Becky, the best part about her job is "making friends with customers and making them smile," and she does just that.
Feeling valued and appreciated while at work is important for anyone, but finding the perfect job can sometimes be difficult. For Becky, EPI's job coaches were there every step of the way, helping match her skills with a job in the community. After some searching and interviews, Becky found her place at Village Inn, where she's thrived this last year.
As with any job seeker, including those with disabilities, navigating the job search can bring unique challenges - finding the right resources, identifying strengths and sometimes dealing with barriers like transportation or on-the-job support. At EPI, we help bridge that gap by matching qualified job candidates to existing community employment opportunities. Job match is critical to long-term employment success for all of us.
EPI works to support and educate community employers on the benefits of accessing what is known as an untapped workforce. EPI believes that all individuals, regardless of disability, have employment-related strengths and barriers. Our staff supports both program participants, as well as employers, in identifying those individualized strengths and barriers, overcoming and facilitating natural employee and employer relationships that are mutually beneficial.
Becky has enjoyed getting to know her coworkers, and one of her favorite memories with them, she shared, was the Christmas party her work team hosted at local arcade, Double Tap, where she challenged friends to ski ball, ate some delicious pizza, and shared laughs with new friends - one friend being the very ride that got her there and home that night.
With the help of EPI's supported employment services, Becky has not only developed confidence in starting a brand new job and has excelled in it for the past year, she also has gained many new skills from this employment experience and job coaching. An accomplishment Becky most proud of is how she was going on an upcoming trip to Disney World and was worried about having enough spending money to be able to enjoy herself throughout the vacation, but after many shifts of saving her tips, she had more than enough money to have fun and splurge on things like snacks and souvenirs.
Why are EPI's supported employment services important to the people we serve?
Becky's journey is just one of many, showing why EPI's employment services are so important. While her disability once made finding and keeping a job a challenge, with the right support, Becky has flourished.
Donations and grants from our community and its members have helped EPI train and develop quality job trainers and coaches needed to help those we serve obtain and maintain quality employment, just like Becky.
Becky's story is just one example of how we deliver life-changing services to those who need them most in our community.
We believe every individual, regardless of their abilities, deserves the opportunity to live a fulfilling life with support to gain greater independence.
We remain in awe of you and our community's continued support for the people we serve, the mission of EPI, and our dedicated staff.