Companionship of Work
Janitorial -
Collaborating Step by Step
June
2008
Dear Friend,
Guido Piccarolo
When we decided to develop the Companionship of
Work Program, offering employment in janitorial
(CWPJ), we wanted not only to give support and
advocacy to person s with disabilities, but also
to collaborate with them building step by step a
real path to meaningful employment and career
development. We developed a program that
addresses the entire human experience of adults
with mental and physical disabilities. These
people might not otherwise have an option for
work, to express themselves, to build on their
natural talents and creativity.
This path is not the result of a "magic
formula", at least in our experience it did not
happen like that! We are experiencing that for a
path to be real, it has to teach and offer a
method. For this reason, we will be teaching and
training persons with disabilities to be
janitors and thus developing their careers in
building, warehouse, and school maintenance
learning a systematic and standardized cleaning
system, which is called
OS1. Throughout a comprehensive training, we
will be able to keep the job of cleaning simple
and safe, giving our employees the right tools
and chemicals, and implementing a work-loading
and scheduling system that reduces cleaning
costs while increasing efficiencies and hygiene
levels.
This is how the Companionship of Work with its
program in janitorial will help and guide
persons with disabilities to become successful
employees and active members within our
community. The passion for life and the struggle
to live it can only be sustained, day by day,
through human companionship.
Sincerely
,
Guido Piccarolo
Los Angeles Habilitation House, President and
Co-Founder
I
In late April, the executive directors of Los Angeles
Habilitation House headed down to
KBM Building Services, in San Diego, California, to
meet with Conrado Ortiz, Account Manager. KBM is an
award winning company defined by unparalleled customer
service and employee satisfaction. Recently KBM was
awarded the best place to work in San Diego by the San
Diego Business Journal.
This trip provided the pathway to the first experience
for Guido and LAHH to learn custodial using the OS1
method. Conrado was gracious and generous with us to
discuss KBM, the on-site boot camp, and the team
environment created by the crew at the building where
Guido will be stationed. The first day of employment for
Guido was Tuesday, May 27th. We have much excitement and
appreciation for this grace afforded us by Mr. Conrado
Ortiz and Mr. Paul Condie, Director at KBM.
KBM Building Services Employee
Piccarolo
Both Conrado and Paul have been interested to understand
our unique business model. Conrado and Paul worked hard
to bridge difference in legal structure and employment
focus to find a collaborative way to work together. We
are deeply grateful for this opportunity to learn
first-hand the profession of janitorial. We also want to
extend our appreciation to Mr. John Walker, founder of
OS1, who graciously made the introduction between Mr.
Paul Condie and Guido. We look forward to our disabled
employees, be they veteran or civilian, have their first
day of employment.
We gained a better understanding of the incredible
work that this organization is doing across the
Pacific Region and the entire Nation for persons
with severe mental and physical disabilities. This
meeting opened up for us a new possibility of
finding work contracts through the
AbilityOne Program. Meeting with Mr. Dubinsky,
we learned that on February 11, 2008, President Bush
signed an AbilityOne memorandum that encourages all
federal agencies to adopt AbilityOne programs on
their own, to continue to work with AbilityOne. To
quote the First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, "It's very
important for Americans with disabilities to be
afforded the opportunities to lead independent
lives, to be able to use their talents and their
potential to the fullest."
We have found in Mr. Dubinsky someone who shares
with us the same passion and desire for the work
that we have begun. Thank you Mr. Dubinsky for your
encouragement and partnership!
In Los Angeles, it is easy to find a
movie studio that is working on the
next blockbuster and new technology
that will bring this movie to the
masses.
Ripe Digital Entertainment (RDE)
is a leader in video on demand with
a mission to create, distribute and
market the worlds most successful
and entertaining On Demand
television networks across multiple
platforms: cable, broadband and
wireless. As the folks at RDE delve
into turnkey programming solutions,
they also are aware of their ability
to help others. Recently LAHH was
contacted by Mr. Glen Gagnon, Vice
President, Finance and Accounting,
and Ms. Paige White, Facility and
Operations Manager, both from RDE,
offering to donate slightly used
office furniture including desks,
filing cabinets, and shelving. We
were thrilled and accepted
immediately. This unexpected act of
kindness will allow for the first
office of LAHH to be equipped with
the resources necessary to conduct
business in a professional manner.
Our gratitude to Glen, Paige, and
RDE.
Roberto Calogera, our good friend,
was there with Guido to pick up the
office furniture and bring it home.
It was early on a Saturday morning
and required a lot of heavy lifting
- We could not have done this with
you Roberto!
In
Collaboration,
Nancy Albin
Los Angeles Habilitation House, Vice
President & Co-Founder
LAHH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in need of
support to develop the programs of the organization.
Board of Directors Spotlight
Lance Larson, Website Developer,
Los Angeles Habilitation House
A specialist in instructional design,
Lance currently works for the
Office of College Career and Education
in San Diego, California. His job
primarily is to help teachers and
counselors improve their practice in the
area of technology and instruction. He
personally has developed over 45
websites the past 9 years in the
non-profit sector, most of which involve
training systems for adolescent students
and adults. Lance is fascinated by the
merging of technology and education,
particularly how they can change the
lives of students and adults in
obtaining new knowledge. A former
Peace Corps volunteer, Lance spent 4
years in Paraguay, South America, where
his wife, Yenny, of 13 years is
originally from. They have three
children: Sebastian, 8; Stefan, 5; and
Ana, 10 months.
