LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It is another busy day in the Harbor House Bulk Mail & Fulfillment Center. One by one, mail pieces are stuffed and prepped to be shipped out for a local nonprofit. Workers here are paid daily based on how much they’re able to finish, and are all adults living with a disability.
It’s one of several job opportunities offered to adults here who are living with a disability and participate in programs through Harbor House, a Louisville-based organization that serves the city’s residents living with a disability.
“So this program is actually a stepping stone for our participants to potentially get a community job,” said Mail and Fulfillment Manager Jamie Klein. “And they will come in and learn job skills, time management and things like that, so that we could potentially place them in the community.”
A person taking advantage of the work opportunity is Lori Williams, who has a mild intellectual disability.
“I’ve been here for about three years, and it’s been wonderful,” Williams said as she worked on processing a sack of envelopes.
She says she comes to work in the mailroom five times a week and only misses a day when she has a doctor’s appointment. Adding it’s the caring staff and life skills that keep her coming back.
”I love everything they trying to teach us to do and try to teach us to become independent adults, young adults,” Williams said.
Harbor House has offered in-house jobs to its clients since its founding in the 90s. They partner with local and national companies to provide mail and other services.
Beyond the mail room, staff also assists in job placement, and works with several employers around Louisville in ways that go above and beyond a job application.
“They’ll do mock interviews with them. They will go to the interviews with them, go through the whole process with them, and kind of help them navigate that community employment,” said Paige Snepp, Harbor House’s programs manager.
Providing people, regardless of their abilities, with a meaningful job and a sense of self-confidence.
Beyond job placement, the organization teaches other valuable life skills such as communication, financial planning and self-advocacy.