TandC Associates, LLC

The Importance of Employment (Part 1) — My Introduction to this Subject

Upon separation from the Army in 1964, I sought a job in the mental health field and discovered Fountain House in New York City. I was hired as what now is called a “job coach” to work with a group of discharged patients at a local car wash. Under the mentorship of John Beard, then Fountain House’s Executive Director, a vision of hope and a positive future was solidified for members (the clubhouse term for “consumers”) through the development of relationships and the opportunity to go to work.

A major employment program first initiated at Fountain House is Transitional Employment (TE). TE provides entry-level, part-time work opportunities to members in actual places of business at the prevailing wage. The placement actually belongs to the clubhouse and first a staff worker learns the job and then trains a member for it. As its name suggests for each member the TE is temporary, usually 6-8 months, after which it is turned over to another member. The replaced member then goes to another TE, an independent job, school or some combination of his or her own choosing.

The car wash was the first group TE project, wherein a staff worker was on-site to train and supervise several members who were not available for individual placement where they would be on their own. It provided an opportunity for a person just coming out of the hospital to go to work for even one day, to be paid at the end of their shift and have the feeling of independence right away. For Bill, Marty, Sal, Cheryl, Jose and over time many others, this was their first job after long years of hospitalization. I learned how important even a menial job could be and that it can lead to other jobs.

Sal is but one example of someone who got his start at the carwash. After many years in Brooklyn State Hospital (later Kings County Psychiatric Center), Sal came to Fountain House while still in hospital. Soon after becoming a member he started working four-hour shifts two days a week at the carwash, again while still in hospital.  This was his first paying job ever, and over time he gradually increased his schedule to 20 hours/five days a week.

After several months, we found an apartment for him. He left the hospital and began a new job as a messenger for an advertising company, a job he held for years. Sal had sad eyes, a wistful smile, and an engaging personality.

Robert, at my retirement party in 2006, commented: “When I first came to Fountain House, Tom Malamud first came here too. I worked with him at Lafayette Car Wash. He also remembers the guy who came with me, (and turned out to be) Sal.”

Bill served as a kind of foreman at the car wash. After over 20 years in the hospital, Bill was now in his early 60’s, and this placement was the first employment he had had since he was a young man. He quickly learned all aspects of the job and easily provided assistance to those who were just starting there. He enjoyed being a trainer and his “trainees” were always appreciative.

The carwash was my first assignment at Fountain House and it was there that I learned for sure the importance of being directly involved in tasks with members. Working together provided the best opportunity for forming productive relationships. In addition to the satisfaction of having such relationships, I got to know people well enough to have a meaningful input into their goal planning. It is the best kind of “therapeutic” involvement, one in which I got as much out of the relationship as the other party.

One knows that when a relationship of this type exists such simple personal factors as a person’s birthday, favorite dessert, how one takes coffee or tea, are known and acknowledged. Often for people who have been institutionalized for years, they have not had such relationships, which makes them even more appreciated.

This series is an abstraction from a larger writing, pending publication; therefore, any reference to (or quotation from) any of the series must be made with the expressed permission of the author. Requests may be directed to this E-mail address

tandcassociates@gmail.com

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