Finding Their Own Passion

Customer B had returned to DSB for the second time in 2024. In his previous time at DSB, he was on a path that wasn’t ever meant for him. B had always aspired to be like his father who was an Engineer, so he chose to go in that direction which ended in an unsuccessful outcome to his case. When I received B's file, I had a lot of solid information to work with already. We discussed the fact that he didn’t have any high school education since he dropped out of school after the 8th grade. B had become a very good guitarist practicing daily, but he had no direction in his life. His father expressed to me how he wanted B to choose a path for himself since he knew very well that B had his own set of skills and abilities to give to the world.
We discussed his interests at length for weeks as I developed his plan and he began his assessments. One day out of nowhere, B told me that he loved to cook. It was something that always came natural to him, but it never occurred to him that he could make a living doing it with his vision loss. For a long time, we went over many different employment options for him, but we always seemed to end up with food services. It was achievable, because he didn’t need a high school diploma or a GED to gain immediate experience in that field. I eventually referred his case over to Sherwood Community Services. 
B was able to do a trial work experience with HopeWorks in Everett, which operates Kindred Kitchen. They are a social enterprise creating stable futures for people while nourishing the community with delicious meals. Based on the assessment he stepped into their training program that ultimately led to a full-time job upon completion. Once B was in the kitchen working, our Assistive Technology Specialist and Vision Rehabilitation Specialist went into action to do a job site assessment. DSB provided a few low vision devices and made suggestions in the kitchen for him to read orders, however, it was determined that B could function quite well with low vision in a fast-paced environment with a few modifications made to his workstation. 
Today, B continues to work at Kindred Kitchen primarily taking orders, cooking, opening the store in the mornings and doing the necessary prep work assigned to him each day. B has told me many times that he loves his job along with the crew that he works with each day. In fact, he and several of his teammates have formed a garage band and practice after work each day. He also is working on achieving his GED through an educational program offered by HopeWorks. Once he completes his GED, B hopes to begin looking into a culinary arts program in order to gain more formal training. All in all, B has come a long way thanks to his perseverance. He has a very positive attitude on life these days and truly believes in himself more than ever before. Finding his own personal path was the key to opening the door to a new life that hopefully will bring him many years of happiness.