DAYTON, Ky. — A commercial laundry in northern Kentucky employs two twin brothers who are learning skills they can apply in life, and saving up some hard earned money.

What You Need To Know

  • Point Laundry falls under the Point Arc umbrella; the organization has the mission of helping individuals with intellectual and developmental differences reach their highest potential

  • Twins Kyle and Caleb Holland work as a team there

  • The laundry currently has 30 employees, and 11 of them have intellectual and developmental disabilities

  • Their mother says the experience has taught the twins a number of life lessons that extend beyond their jobs

Kyle and Caleb Holland work as a team inside The Point Commercial Laundry in Dayton. Kyle feeds pillow cases into a large machine where they get nice and flattened out. Caleb folds them, stacks them up, and puts each stack together in a row.

They work four hours a day, three days a week. The facility goes through two million pounds of laundry a year. It gets pretty hot in there during summer months.

“Hot. Bring in a bottle of cold water,” Kyle said.

What motivates them?

“They pay me my money,” Caleb said.

Sometimes when they come in to work, the twins have to remind coworkers who’s Kyle and who’s Caleb. But they don’t mind. They’ve been working there for two years, and said they love it.

It also makes their mom, Rannie Henson, proud.

“They don’t see themselves any different than you and I do, which is amazing,” she said. “They can do anything.”

Point Laundry falls under the Point Arc umbrella. The organization has the mission of helping individuals with intellectual and developmental differences reach their highest potential educationally, residentially, socially, and vocationally.

The laundry currently has 30 employees. Eleven of them have intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

“They may produce at a 10, 20, 30% to what expectations would be, 80, 90 to 100%. To me, it’s not about their disability. It’s about: what is their ability?” said general manager Steve Roark. “They’re here. They’re part of the team. They’re part of our family. They come in with a smile on their face every day. And they do their job.”

The laundry is one of four Point businesses where at least one-third of the staff is made up of individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities.

“It’s great for the independence part of them. They’ve learned to ride the tank bus. They’re learning to manage their money. So that’s always a plus. They’ve learned to get up on their own,” Henson said. “And they’ve brought the skills home. They do all of our laundry now.”

When they’re not working, the twins can be found bowling as members of the Special Olympics team.

The hard work at the laundry just makes them appreciate the fun times more. So they have no plans to leave anytime soon.

“I need to work hard,” Caleb said.

The Point Arc trains and places individuals in community businesses through its supported employment program. The four social enterprises it has established are Point Apparel, Point Commercial Laundry, Point Perk Coffeehouse and Zels Pretzels.

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