Summerville program recognizes local business for partnership

SUMMERVILLE, SC (WCSC) -A program that helps people with intellectual disabilities gain employment honored the companies that they’ve partnered with.

Community Options has helped over twenty people with an intellectual disability get a job in the past few years.

To show their appreciation for the companies that have brought on their clients, Community Options held a luncheon to show their support for the places that have changed the lives of their clients. Each company was given a certificate and treated to a catered lunch.

“We couldn’t do our job of helping these clients get jobs without the helps of these companies and we are so grateful for them,” Megan Reynolds, a supportive employment special says.

The YMCA, Embassy Suites, Publix, Goodwill, Stars and Strikes, and the South Carolina Aquarium are just some of the places that have partnered with Community Options to help people with intellectual disabilities have steady employment. The clients looking for a job are trained for the field and then sent out on their own. One of those placed employees says he wouldn’t trade his job for anything, and he owes his happiness to the program.

“I really enjoy my coworkers and staff, it’s a great place to work, I couldn’t be happier, I look forward to many many more years,” Brandon Peek says. He was placed as a cashier at Public three years ago by the Community Options program.

Community Options says they love seeing how much is accomplished when they can work together with employers to provide a new opportunity for someone