On Thursday afternoon, Charlie White pushed a mower through a patchy lawn under a chestnut tree.
“It feels good to work,” said the 47-year-old. “It gets me out of the house.”
At first glance, he looks like any other employee at Thomason Landscaping. But as someone who is on the autism spectrum, he said he feels he’s making a difference through his employment.
White is one of more than a hundred people with disabilities who find work through a nonprofit called Trillium Employment Services. The nonprofit, which aims to diversify businesses, is growing in staff and clients, said Christina Frye, program manager at Trillium.
White was recognized during the Clark County Disability Employment Awareness Month Celebration on Wednesday at The Heathman Lodge.
“It was the first time I got a reward,” he said.
Cherokee Nikas, White’s supervisor, picks up White twice a week in a truck at a coffee shop near his apartment and the two drive from house to house in Clark County to work. His duties include mowing, picking weeds and blowing leaves with a backpack blower.
Nikas said that working with White is easier than working with other employees.
“He doesn’t get stressed out,” she said as she watched White shaking a bag of mulch onto a tarp. “As long as you use positive reinforcement, he works like everyone else.”
The nonprofit, at 2800 E. Evergreen Blvd., hired a few new employees in 2019 and is helping employ more and more people with disabilities every year, Frye said. The nonprofit is funded by the Clark County Department of Community Services and the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
“We’re always looking for referrals and new businesses,” she said.
Businesses that find employees through Trillium don’t pay the nonprofit, but they give a paycheck to the workers, who make minimum wage and sometimes more.
White, who graduated from Battle Ground High School in 1992, said he’s grateful to be working, and he prefers it over watching his favorite show on TV, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Nikas said she doesn’t see much difference between White’s work compared with the other Thomason landscapers.
“To me,” she said, “he’s another employee.”
