Work and Personal Services
Growing In NKC

A recent expansion means that more VSI workers with disabilities will have opportunities for success.

Work and Personal Services is now in full swing at the North Kansas City workshop. WPS began in 1993 at the Liberty workshop with the goal of providing additional opportunities for workers who fall below state guidelines for workshop employment.

But that's only part of the story. WPS has numerous examples of workers who were in danger of losing employment opportunities-who even exhibited limited communication skills-but who now flourish after a few months with Work and Personal Services.

A 55-year-old man went to the library for the first time. He was thrilled that there was a place where he could find all those books. Most importantly, he came back motivated to work. He's like a different person.

WPS uses hobbies, volunteer work and other "elective" activities to teach work and personal skills and motivate workers to improve. The results are sometimes incredible: individuals frequently score two, three and four times higher than their previous results on state tests used to qualify workshop employees.

"Sometimes success means going beyond the norm," explained VSI Executive Director Randy Hylton. "But we have to do things to provide opportunities for everyone."

The community also learns from the program. "We've had many people, including our own Board members, who were impressed with the contributions these workers make through volunteer work or other contacts," Hylton said. "You see people having success that others thought was impossible. We have one man who was told by state officials that he would never even get into a workshop and now he's successful. That's what really counts."

For additional information on Missouri workshops and their services, consider these links:

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Sheltered Workshops