Written By Kim O’Brien Root
Peter Reid was a teacher and a high school football coach when a traumatic brain injury 27 years ago changed everything.
One of the things it affected was the ability to hold a job. Teaching wasn’t possible anymore, and a job he loved at a home improvement store didn’t work out after he made some “mental mistakes.”
He eventually found VersAbility Resources, an organization that helps people with disabilities live, work and thrive in their communities by providing services such as early childhood intervention, day and recreational support, residential living and four diverse employment programs.
Peter happened to attend church with a VersAbility board member, who put him in touch with one of its employment programs. For the past three years, he’s been doing grounds maintenance at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, one of the many places in Hampton Roads that contracts with VersAbility to employ people with disabilities.
In Peter’s eyes, VersAbility gives chances.
“People who speak differently, act differently, look differently, sometimes they just need a chance,” said the 51-year-old Newport News resident.
VersAbility gave me a chance. They gave me a chance to do something new and that I’d enjoy.”
Through VersAbility Resources’ employment programs in Hampton Roads and beyond, those with intellectual and physical disabilities are able to secure employment that might not ordinarily be available to them. VersAbility is able to provide extra support and resources, including interview skills and training for a smooth transition to successful employment.
“Someone’s mind might move at a slower rate,” said VersAbility Director of Operations LaKisa Ward. “They may be slower at answering questions. We’re able to identify that and adapt the interview to the skill set. Or someone might not interview well, but they do a very good job on the job. They’re just a hands-on learner.”
Transition-to-Work Program
The Transition-to-Work program is for students with disabilities who are leaving high school and looking to enter the work force. VersAbility works with high schools in Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg, identifying 15 to 20 participants a year with the help of teachers in the special education programs at schools.
Students in the program learn about the different jobs that are available, are assessed to figure out their skill levels and given help with improving certain skills. From there, they’re introduced to the Supported Employment program, which gives them opportunities to find jobs in the community.
Business Services Program
VersAbility has a number of contracts with Hampton Roads businesses, with the work done on site at the organization’s locations in Hampton and Gloucester. Jobs range from assembling cables for Cox Communications to assembling items for companies like Howmet and Ryson. There’s a paper-scanning department, where paper documents are scanned and turned into electronic documents for banks and the government, as well as a digitization department, where X-rays are turned into electronic documents.
Know those DAV envelopes that periodically show up in the mail with a plastic bag inside for donations? VersAbility workers put the bags in envelopes, seal and mail them.
Workers are placed in jobs based on their skills, and are monitored by supervisors the whole time, Ward said. About 160 employees have jobs within the program, working 6-7 hours a day, five days a week. Some of the contracts go back a long time – as long as 50 years.
“It’s definitely a well-oiled machine,” Ward said. “We’re definitely busy.”
Supported Employment program
The Supported Employment program is aimed at getting people out into the community. VersAbility works with a number of different businesses in Hampton Roads, offering jobs that range from making eyeglasses to answering phones in a call center.
VersAbility helps its employees with interview preparation and provides hands-on training for the job at no cost to employers, staying with the employees until they’re confident to be on their own, Ward said. These job coaches can come back as needed to do additional training. The program helps make VersAbility Resources a major service provider, business and employer in Hampton Roads, with individuals with disabilities earning an average of $7.4 million in wages and benefits annually.
“They work side-by-side with regular civilian employees,” Ward said. “You can walk into those environments and not know who has a disability and who does not.”
Government Contracts
A key program for VersAbility is its many government contracts, including food services at the VA Medical Center and in three U.S. Navy galleys, mail services with the U.S. Air Force, grounds maintenance at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and custodial positions with the National Parks Service. VersAbility places employees in jobs operating the call center at Langley Air Force Base and loading provisions on U.S. Navy ships before tours. Work for the government is performed as far away as Hawaii and Guam.
For more than six years, Sheila Lamb of Virginia Beach has had a job loading food on Navy ships before they go out to sea. She applied for the position because she was worried her learning disability would impede her from other jobs, and she was afraid “to put myself out there.”
The position with Ship Provisioning is a physical job that requires a lot of effort, but Sheila said likes the people she works with and enjoys coming to work every day. There are people with all levels of disabilities in her unit, she said, and they all look out for each other.
“We’re like a big family,” said Sheila, 27. “Everyone has each other’s back. Everyone’s there for each other.”
Working in the community
Another way VersAbility has helped individuals in its programs is by having them volunteer at job sites. At Kelsick Specialty Market, a gourmet food shop on Main Street in Gloucester, small groups are brought in periodically to help with odd jobs such as cleaning, organizing shelves, doing dishes and gardening. Individuals also get to watch the chef prepare food and help him package it.
By working in the shop, high schoolers to adults – all with some level of disability – are able to learn skills they can use in their own lives, said shop owner Paige Williams, who has been partnering with VersAbility for the past two years. Sometimes, she does mock interviews with them as well.
“It’s a huge help to us as much as it is to them,” Williams said. “I can tell they’re genuinely happy to be doing something, and it’s really cool to be able to support an organization like this.”
When the pandemic hit
During the past year, VersAbility’s programs have had to pivot because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Transition-to-Work program closed down in March 2020 and hasn’t yet started back up. The Business Services program had to keep many of its employees at home – those with disabilities often have underlying health issues that leave them vulnerable, and VersAbility didn’t want to risk their health.
Rather than stop the program, however, the supervisors took over the work for the business contracts to keep them active. The work actually increased in some instances. For example, one contract with a company called Solo involves assembling backpack pesticide sprayers – workers assemble some parts and put parts in bags. The job duties picked up during the pandemic when Solo began marketing the sprayers for sanitization use.
While the contracts haven’t slowed down, VersAbility is still eager to have its employees return – and the employees can’t wait to come back, Ward said. “They’re used to being able to be out of the house, and see their friends and do their jobs,” she said.
Fortunately for Peter Reid, he was able to resume his grounds maintenance job. Any given day finds him outside, raking, cutting grass or trimming trees. He’s met others with disabilities as well, and said he loves the fact that so many different people are given opportunities.
His supervisor, Rhonda Walton, describes Peter as an “exceptionally fine guy. He just helps so much with the other guys. He’s an inspiration to get others to work. He goes beyond helping anyone he can help.”
Aside from some memory issues (he occasionally needs to be redirected to the task), you wouldn’t know Peter – a William & Mary graduate with two degrees –had a disability, Walton said. In fact, the harder the work, the more he likes it, she said.
“He gets out and hustles every day of his life.”