September 28th, 2020  BY COMPASS CAREER SOLUTIONS

For over 30 years Jeff woke up bright and early to complete his shift at Cap’n Yoby’s in Kelso Washington every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Jeff’s typical day would start by meeting his job coach from Compass Career Solutions and clocking in. Jeff would then gather his cleaning materials and off he went. Jeff would clean the bathrooms and the lobby while listening to his favorite artist Alice Cooper. Jeff says Feed my Frankenstein is the best and also starts his day off right.

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Jeff loves to joke and play pranks on his job coach and co-workers. Jeff’s supervisor Stacy said everyone loves Jeff, he’s more like family. When Jeff’s job coach asked what his favorite things about working is, Jeff stated that he liked sweeping and mopping to ensure a clean area for the customers. Jeff is very independent and loves his job!

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Due to COVID, many things were about to suddenly change. Jeff’s support team had some concerns about how this sudden change would affect Jeff after having a routine for 30 years, but let’s just say that there was no need to worry about anything - Jeff was happy. After a couple of months back at work, Jeff realized that he enjoyed not working and expressed an interest in retirement.  Jeff thought about what retirement could look like for him; he didn’t want to just stop working and stay home, he wanted to explore the community and meet new people. Jeff’s case manager discussed the options with Jeff and he was offered the opportunity given the option to switch over to Community Inclusion services with Compass Careers Solutions so that he could explore his community through retirement and continue to have the support he needed.

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Jeff is looking forward to going out to a local hotspot, listening to music, making new friends, and playing Shuffle Board. Jeff also expressed interest in the possibility of joining a shuffleboard league. Jeff not only made friends while employed, he also found an extended family of co-workers and support staff! With 30 years of memories, he will be greatly missed. Now it’s his time to find another 30 years' worth of friendships while exploring his community and enjoying the retirement life.