June 20, 2017

[Madison, Wis…] Last week, the Legislature passed a resolution reaffirming the need and value of all employment services for people with disabilities.

Advocates and employees of one employment service, Opportunities Inc. of Fort Atkinson, came to the Capitol to celebrate the recognition.

Critics on the left say jobs provided by services like Opportunities aren’t “mainstream,” but employees and their families told MacIver News what their jobs mean to them.

Mark Brieman’s daughter Tara works at Opportunities. “She was supposed to come with me today, and she had tears in her eyes because she said ‘dad, I want to stay here and work’,” Brieman said.

“The thing is, if they work in the mainstream, they might get just four hours a week if they’re lucky,” said Kris Hale, whose brother Andy has worked at Opportunities for 30 years.