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♪♪

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♪♪

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-Krista Leimbacher works as hard

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as anyone for Seattle's
mayor.

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-I do coffee, I do the mail,
which is the most important.

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I do business cards, I scan,
I file a lots of different tasks.

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-Gotten up 65 words a minute.

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-That's faster than me.
-But for mayor

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Mike McGinn, it's
not just about the tasks.

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-Kris is very upbeat

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and she's just a pleasure
to be around.

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-The mayor sees
something in Krista

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a lot of other employers
might not.

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-You know, unemployment among
the disabled is very high.

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For a lot of people,

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it's hard

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to see what somebody
can bring to your job. 

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-173.

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-And that's bad for
the person who wants to work,

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but it's bad for the whole community.

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-0-2-2-2.

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-Which is why the mayor

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believes so strongly
in a city program for people

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with developmental
disabilities,

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like Krista, called
Supported Employment.

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-Thank you, Krista.

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-You're welcome!

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-Its purpose? 

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-To help people
who have been traditionally

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excluded from workplaces
get included.

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-Ding dong.

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-We realized that there were
a lot of entry level,

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routine, repetitive,

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smaller tasks
that needed to be done,

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and we could bundle
all of those

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tasks into positions

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for people with developmental
disabilities.

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-Hello.

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-Getting lower cost employees
to free up higher salaried

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ones from tasks like filing,
sorting and data entry

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can be cost effective
for an employer.

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Sounds like a slam
dunk, right?

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Not always.

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-Common objections
that supervisors and managers

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have are the worry
that this person will not be

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able to do the job,
and the worry that this

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person will fail at the job.

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Hello, this is Heather.

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-It's Heather Weldon's job
to put those fears to rest.

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-The fact is, 
people always rise

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to the level of expectation
placed on them.

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-What we would like to do
is put this

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in alphabetical order.

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-The supported employee

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and their boss aren't
alone in all this.

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Helping both out 
is the job coach.

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-I'm kind of like
the mainstay,

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trying to keep it

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all in balance, hoping
that everybody is happy.

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Fantastic.

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-The job coach is paid

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for by the state, so there's
no cost to an employer.

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-How are you doing on the mail?
-Fine!

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I meet new people

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and meet new friends.

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♪♪

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-I think if you give them
the right support

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and push them a little,
they can do

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just about anything
they want.

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-Well, they're great employees.

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Number one,
they love coming to work,

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and it's an important part
of their week.

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-Morning Mark!

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-I'm glad I have a job

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so I could get up
in the morning

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and do something instead of
staying home all day.

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-Diane can work on some filing.

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-Heather Weldon
put the supported

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employment program

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together ten years ago
with just five employees.

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Today, there are 60 working
for the city.

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-I mean, actually,
I honestly don't feel proud

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because I feel all I can think of is we should have 100.

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-Knock, knock.

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-I've seen

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entire workplaces
transformed by hiring someone

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with a

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developmental disability,

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because people tend to rally
around someone who needs

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a little extra help,

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and who sees the world
very differently than them.

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-Morning Noelle. I like to work

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with the people
and the different projects

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that happen and making them
smile and giggle.

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[laughter]

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Whoops. Sorry.

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-She just ran over my foot.

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-I’m sorry.

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-There is always an excuse
why you can't hire someone

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with a developmental
disability.

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Whether it's. “Oh,
we just reorganized.

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We can't do it now.”

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Or “I don't know if we have
the right kind of tasks.”

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And so what I say to
that is: “Now is the time.

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Now is always the time.”

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Because if we're
going to start something new,

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we can't put it off into the
future.

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We need to start now.

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-My job,

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it's just something that
I've dreamed about doing

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and and my dream
actually came true.

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And I'm very proud of that.

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-I'm really proud of you all.

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I just want you all to know

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that I'm really proud of
you all.

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I'm really glad
we have this program.

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And they work hard

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and they bring a lot
to the city,

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and I think it's also
just a sign

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of our commitment
in the city that

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everybody has a role to play.

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Everybody can contribute, and
if you take that attitude,

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you find out it's true.

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Knock em dead, Krista.

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-I'll try...for you.

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-Thank you.

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Thank you. You.

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[laughter]

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