Mercer County Opportunity Industries efforts find the right people for the jobs

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Joe Thomas sweeps the hallway at the Mercer County Opportunity Industries headquarters. Tammie Toler

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January 26, 2013

Mercer County Opportunity Industries efforts find the right people for the jobs

By TAMMIE TOLER Princeton Times The Zope Gazette Sat Jan 26, 2013, 05:00 AM EST

PRINCETON — Sometimes, a helping hand and a point in the right direction can make a world of difference in a person’s life.

For people with a variety of disabilities, the Mercer County Opportunity Industries exists to offer those helping hands and invaluable pieces of advice on a job search.

The non-profit organization built around the theme, “Helping others to help themselves,” offers private and community-based vocational assessment and job-finding services for clients referred from the West Virginia Association of Rehabilitation Facilities.

“It can be any disability, from diabetes to developmental disabilities that affect a person’s ability to do a job,” Executive Director Stephen Dickerson explained recently.

MCOI currently serves more than 40 clients who want to work in their communities, despite the challenges they face daily.

“What may seem like their liability could actually be their biggest assets,” Dickerson said. “They are very dependable and hard-working, and if they like a job, they’ll do it forever.”

The MCOI assessment process begins at the organization’s headquarters on Workshop Street in Glenwood. There, counselors meet with the clients one on one to begin the analysis of their skill sets and potential challenges in the workplace. Then, the rehabilitation counselors take the clients into the field, thanks to a number of local entities that have agreed to work with MCOI. Those businesses and organizations include Bellacino’s, Comfort Inn, Pam’s Place, Salvation Army, Food City and more.

“There, they get 100 percent, one-on-one attention from our counselors,” Dickerson said. “We move from there to trying to find them a job in the community.”

The career placements may serve private businesses or agencies that have an agreement with MCOI. The Opportunity Industries currently has a contract with the West Virginia Department of Highways to provide janitorial services at the Mercer County offices, as well as the West Virginia Welcome Center in Princeton.

MCOI also offers extended supportive employment, meaning that a MCOI counselor tracks the client’s progress on the job.

“We just check in on them once a month or twice a month, spend a couple of hours with them and make sure that everything is working out OK for them and for the employer,” Dickerson said.

If a job in the community is not available, MCOI can actually hire clients to work in the Print Shop or other project at the headquarters.

While Dickerson would like to see the vocational opportunities at MCOI expand, the print shop offers clients a place to work and local businesses a way to inform their customers and market their brands.

MCOI Print Shop can design and create T-shirts, banners, plaques, signs, trophies, name tags and vinyl banners.

“Pretty much anything you can print on a sheet of paper, we can print on vinyl, T-shirts, or anything,” Dickerson said.

Along with the janitorial services contract and the Print Shop, MCOI also offers job counseling on site and a computer workshop. Clients also work on mass mailings for businesses in the area who utilize MCOI services.

“We’re a local non-profit that is here for the community. We’re here to support those folks who may need an extra helping hand in the job search,” Dickerson said. “When people in the community purchase our products, those are the people they are helping.”

For more information, contact MCOI at 304-425-3810.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.

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