St. John ARC clients working past their disabilities
Published 12:15 am Saturday, March 12, 2016
- Clients Mildred Brown, left, stands with Joseph Delay and instructor Ezetta Taylor at St. John Arc in LaPlace Wednesday afternoon. St. John ARC is a work training facility for adults with developmental disabilities. (Raquel Derganz Baker/L’OBSERVATEUR)
LAPLACE — St. John ARC is providing residents with developmental disabilities the chance to socialize, pick up different training and earn a paycheck.
Adley Mayeux smiles as he shows off the project he has been working on with blue and yellow string. Crafts created by clients can be seen in a display near the front of
St. John ARC.
Brooke Watson, who has been working at the ARC for two years, said the work training facility teaches adults to perform activities, as well as actives for jobs.
“We have clients here that actually go out in the community with the skills that they have learned here,” she said. “We are a daily center, and our clients are here from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Some clients come from group homes and some live with their parents.
“The state calls us and tells us what each client is capable of doing, and they learn those skills here. The instructors better the clients’ skills every day.”
Watson said the daily interactions have made her relationships with clients feel like family.
Clients participate in crafts, household skills training in cooking and cleaning, sorting of donated Mardi Gras beads for resale, social outings and more.
There are different jobs, in and outside of the center, where clients are able to make money.
Instructor Ezetta Taylor said she has been with the ARC for 32 years because she loves the clients and working with them.
According to Taylor, clients of St. John ARC put the skills they learn to work in the community by being part of mobile work crews.
Groups of three to seven clients go out every day to locations such as KC Hall, Ministry of Care, the Drug and Alcohol Clinic, Louisiana Machinery, the DMV and the Reserve campus of South Central Louisiana Technical College.
“They do janitorial work,” Taylor said. “The mobile work crews have been around for at least 20 years. They work anywhere from two to four hours.
“It depends on the job. Clients get the experience of going out and working on a job, and they love it.”
Taylor said the facilities always give the clients good reports — “I’ve never heard of anyone saying they didn’t want them to come back.”
Client Joseph Delay has worked with the mobile work unit for at least six years.
“I pull trash, vacuum or dust mop the floors,” he said. “I mostly work at the VoTech on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
“I like being part of the mobile work unit. When I’m not at the VoTech, I’m here doing different things at the center on the outside like cutting the grass.”
Mildred Brown spent time Monday cleaning at the Drug and Alcohol Clinic.
“I’ve been with the mobile work units for two years,” she said. “I vacuum, do the bathrooms, clean the windows, take out the trash and mop. I went through training beforehand. It was good. I caught on quick.”
Those on the mobile work units are able to make minimum wage for cleaning facilities around St. John the Baptist Parish.
Brown appreciates the opportunity to learn different skills, adding she learns something new every day.
When she found out March marked as Developmental Disability Awareness Month, a small smile came to her face.
St. John ARC is located at 101 Bamboo Road in LaPlace. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those seeking more information can call 985-652-8003.
By Raquel Derganz Baker
