Photograph by George Sakkestad
Monica Zenk cleans fish tanks at Premium Pet Store, a job she found through HOPE Rehabilitation.
By LESTER CHANG
Seven months ago, Monica Zenk, Brian Goodwin and Clifford Chang, all of whom have developmental disabilities, didn't know what they wanted to do with their lives.
Now, they have decided they want to own or manage a pet shop, thanks to a job-placement program sponsored by HOPE Rehabilitation and Premium Pet Store, the largest pet store in Sunnyvale.
The trio has helped customers, washed fish tanks and stocked shelves--chores they said have helped build the job skills and confidence they need to be able to live on their own one day.
"I love working here," said Goodwin, a 22-year-old Santa Clara resident who has been with HOPE for four years. "I would like to work in the fish department all my life."
Since June, the trio has worked part time and has been coached by Michelle Johnson, a HOPE employee for more than three years.
Through a contract, HOPE pays their salaries, a portion of which goes to the pet shop.
Mike Regan, the store's director, said the program was working well and that his company would like to see it continue.
HOPE's mission is to improve life for people with disabilities. HOPE was founded in 1952 by parents of children with disabilities and is the largest nonprofit group of its kind in the valley, HOPE officials said.
HOPE, with a budget of $17 million this year and 230 employees, serves more than 1,600 clients. It has branches in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Gilroy, Hollister, Monterey and Menlo Park.
HOPE trains and places clients in jobs with up to 300 companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, said Julie Geer-Brown, a community relations specialist with the group.
The companies include Hewlett-Packard and the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station, a recycling operation.
Among other services, HOPE provides counseling, teaches clients how to use public transportation and provides support for families.
Zink, 36, of San Jose, has been a client for 11 years and said she looks forward to new assignments. At other jobs, she labeled bottles at a winery, stocked shelves at a retail store and packaged supplies bound for hospitals.
She works with Goodwin in cleaning more than 30 tanks. She siphons out used water, and Goodwin pours in fresh water. "I like this job because there are new things going on," she said. "I learn every day."
Goodwin also has grown into his job. Before he started, he was very shy with customers, Johnson said. "Now, you get within a certain radius, and he will always say hello," Johnson said. "He has a smile people like."
Chang, a 23-year resident of San Jose, said the sight of fish does something to him.
"I want to own a pet store," he said. "I like working with animals. They make me happy."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 12, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.