Skillfully lifting heavy palettes of recyclables, James McCormack safely maneuvers his forklift around a sea of metal bins.
McCormack is one of nine staff members with intellectual and developmental disabilities employed by The Arc of Spokane to perform contract work for Avista Utilities, gathering and separating new and recyclable materials at the Investment Recovery Center on Avista’s main campus.
Avista and The Arc formed a partnership over 30 years ago, providing a place for McCormack and his co-workers to learn and grow in new skills.
For McCormack, operating a forklift is his favorite part of the job. But learning this specialized skill meant persevering through several challenges to overcome his developmental disability. The hardest was passing his written driver’s license exam, the first requirement for a forklift operator’s certification. “It took me 14 times to pass,” he said. “I passed the driving test on the first try. It was the written test that I had a hard time with.”
After evaluating the employees’ skill sets, Avista job coaches and The Arc of Spokane supervisors provide on-the-job training. They spend one-on-one time teaching the employees how to identify and sort materials. Employees also learn to operate power tools, hand tools and sometimes a forklift.
“When The Arc’s team members first come in, they don’t know how to identify anything. However, it doesn’t take long for them to distinguish between the different materials. It gives them a sense of purpose. They feel accomplished doing a job they love,” said Kristie Sundheim, on-site manager for The Arc.
McCormack has been with the program for over eight years. He works part time and earns a wage. The longest-serving employee is James Cooper, or “Coop,” with 30 years of service.
In addition to providing jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the program supports Avista’s dedication to reducing and eliminating waste, thereby reducing its carbon footprint.
“We understand it was significant in 2021 [the year with the latest data available],” said Brad Erickson, investment recovery coordinator for Avista. “[In that year alone,] the equivalent of 2.1 million pounds going into recycling.” —Eric Johnson and Danielle Wong Moores