TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse Industries CEO Cindy Evans has been with the company for 24 years and said, during her first week on the job as an assistant, she was given paychecks to hand out to start learning people’s names.
“When I saw just how excited people were … they’d rip the check open, they couldn’t wait to show me how much money they made,” Evans said. “Doing something that was so meaningful, … it just captured my heart, and I didn’t leave.”
Officially founded in May 1974, Grand Traverse Industries has been providing employment services and day programming for people with disabilities for 50 years.
GTI has two facilities in Traverse City and Mancelona. The organization provides in-house work opportunities as well as partnerships with local businesses, such as the Grand Traverse Pie Company or Interlochen Arts Academy. The Record-Eagle also is a partner.
Additionally, their Local Interpretive Services Network program — or LIS’N — provides ASL interpretive services to the deaf and hard of hearing community in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Most of the 375 people working at GTI are referred by community mental health services such as Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority, Evans said. Depending on their needs, GTI has in-house work opportunities or will provide transportation and job supervisors for clients to work with local business partners.
“Individuals would get referred here if they’re interested in any of (GTI’s) programs, whether it be making a paycheck or coming here to socialize or be able to access and participate in the community,” Evans said.
Steve Perdue, former GTI CEO for nearly four decades, started expanding GTI’s work programs in 1980, establishing a janitorial business that remains part of GTI’s work today. In 2002, they started a plastic bag manufacturing business and now produce trash can liners for the state of Michigan as well as eight affiliated hospitals with Munson Healthcare.
“I would say GTI’s legacy is that it remains a strong, viable employment and training business for persons with significant disabilities,” Perdue said, adding it also focuses on economic development, job creation and “social and recreation opportunities” people would not otherwise have.
GTI also works with Michigan Rehabilitation Services to provide short-term job coaching for those who want to be placed in the competitive job market.
Northern Lake Community Mental Health CEO Brian Martinus said case managers work with their clients who are employed with GTI and set an individual plan of service for each person based on their goal — whether it is employment or social engagement with the community.
“I think a lot of the hard work that goes into creating those individual plans of services by our case managers often gets overlooked and they’re under-appreciated,” Martinus said. “Cindy’s staff and our staff work really hard to develop those to meet the needs of the people we serve.
“So I’m very proud of both teams and how we’ve come together to collaborate on that type of partnership to provide the best care that we can for some of our most vulnerable in our community.”
Program Director Micah Haven, who oversees the quality and overall operations of GTI’s day program and in-house work services, said he works with team members with a wide range of disability to adapt to their skill set.
“There’s some team members here who only have use of one arm,” Haven said. “So it’s like, OK, well, what are the jobs that we can do one-armed? Or what sort of adaptive devices can we give them so that they could complete a task that normally takes two hands or two arms to do?”
The main challenge is trying to find consistent work, he said.
“Many of the products that we’re manufacturing, or the businesses that we work with, it’s very inconsistent,” Haven said. “So we’ll get a lot of work for two weeks and then nothing for a month, and then a bunch more work … We certainly give a ton of folks the opportunity to work and earn a paycheck, which is important.
“But there are certainly days that there are people here who show up, they want to work, and they’re unable to do so just because we don’t have any jobs for them.”
For individuals who are unable to work or not interested in GTI’s employment services, the company also offers a day program with social activities at their facility.
“Our most popular in-house day program activity is definitely karaoke,” Haven said. “Our guys love to sing. They love music. They love dancing. So that you know, vibrant activities like that tend to be what our folks enjoy. We also really enjoy cooking class and any opportunity to get out in the community, whether it’s going to the library or going to a park or going to a walking trail or going fishing.”
Austin Darga, GTI spokesperson and current client, has been as far as Washington, D.C., to promote GTI and advocate on behalf of the disabled community as a blind person.
Darga recently launched a podcast called “The Way I See It,” where he interviews GTI team members about their perspectives on living life with a disability.
At the Grassroots Self Advocacy conference in D.C., Darga spoke with staff members of U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters about the “marriage penalty” for people with disabilities.
“If you’re someone in the disability community who wants to get married, you will not be able to do that without losing 25% of your income,” Darga said. “I interviewed a couple on my podcast two episodes ago who both have a disability and they’re engaged to be married and they can’t because of that (penalty), so I was talking to (U.S. Rep.) Jack Bergman, along with Stabenow and Peters’ staff, to get that abolished … so, that way, the disability community gets treated fairly – just like anyone else.”
In addition to his spokesperson duties, Darga also works on the assembly floor in the facility.
“The staff and all the co-workers here are phenomenal,” Darga said. “You come in every day and everybody has a smile on their face, and they greet you and talk to you, just like you would want to be treated. … To actually be in the work environment with them is really outstanding, too. Everybody works hard. They want to be here. They want to be a part of the community doing something.”
Watching this connection makes one view “a job” in a different light, Evans, the CEO, said.
“We take so much for granted as people,” Evans said. “We look at our jobs and we can complain. I can’t help but be really thankful that I get to be a part of their life.”