Walk into O’Charley’s^® in Cave Springs on the weekends and you’ll likely see or be greeted by the smiling face of Mary.  Those who know Mary call her smile “beautiful” and “infectious” — and that smile got even bigger after she found the perfect job at O’Charley’s^® in Cave Springs two years ago with the help of Community Living.

The path to finding the perfect job has not been an easy one for Mary, though.  Since she graduated high school in 2002, Mary was on the job hunt.  She worked with other local agencies that serve people with developmental disabilities to find employment and while they were successful in securing her a position, the jobs were short-lived.  Mary either quit or was let go for a variety of reasons — her hours were cut frequently, managers changed and didn’t like that she could only work in the afternoon/early evening because of the sleep she needs to control her seizure disorder, and pressure increased to finish tasks faster and faster beyond Mary’s abilities.  Although it was never said by management, Mary and her parents, dad Fahmi and mom Afaf, always had some suspicion that the changes occurred because of attitudes towards Mary’s disabilities.  The struggle to find that perfect fit led to frustration and discouragement, and to Mary taking a break from working for two years.

“I just sat around, watched TV, and went on the computer,” said Mary about her time off.  “It was not fun.”

After building up stamina again, Mary and her parents decided to give Community Living’s Employment Services program a try.  They had heard about Community Living through Mary’s participation in Family Support Services’ camps during middle and high school and had remembered hearing about Employment Services.  Pam Westhoff, Vocational Coordinator, worked with Mary to build a strategy to find the perfect job.  “We explored a lot of ideas,” said Pam.  “With her wonderful attitude and disposition I thought she would be great as a greeter or hostess — a position where she could work with the public.”

After about three months, the strategy worked and Mary started to get job offers.  The first one was from O’Charley’s^® for a hostess position.  Mary immediately took the job and was successful right away.

“After her experiences I think she was a little unsure of her abilities and what she would be good at doing.  She really just wanted to work,” said Pam.  “Once she was successful at O’Charley’s^®, she started getting to know her fellow employees and was more comfortable with herself.  She got great reactions from her supervisor and coworkers.  Everybody said she was great and doing a great job.  They were very supportive and encouraging.”

Tim Blake, the General Manager at O’Charley’s^®, has been Mary’s supervisor since she started at the restaurant and said her attitude and sense of teamwork is what made and continues to make Mary a valuable part of the O’Charley’s^® team.  “Her overwhelmingly positive attitude brightens everybody’s day,” said Tim.  “She’s constantly learning new tasks and ways to help people.”

Two years later, Mary is still just as happy in her job as she was in the beginning and her parents are very grateful.  Mary’s level of stress even decreased so dramatically that she has not had a seizure since starting to work at O’Charley’s^®.  “She’s always happy at home and at work.  This is what matters,” said Afaf.  “She gets excited when she goes to work and she has lots of friends there.”

Other than loving the work, Mary’s job is perfect and keeps her smiling because of the respect she receives from her manager and co-workers, which has also given her a better self-image.  “They don’t count me as having a disability,” said Mary.  “I’ve felt better and respected myself since I started working there.”