In Signal Hill, California, work is available for adults whose mental handicaps prevent them from normal employment. For sixty years, Advocacy for Respect and Choice has provided jobs and training and essential-skills education to persons who used to be labeled “retarded.” (The word “retarded” is now politically incorrect.) The organization now operates at a complex at 4519 East Stearns Street.
According to a mother of a 44-year-old recipient, “My son loves it here. He says he goes to work every day, and he gets paid every two weeks . . . this makes him very happy. To him its a real job.” Workers with mental handicaps enjoy repetitive tasks that others would find too monotonous, like simple assembly tasks or packaging products.
Representing the Interests of People with Intellectual Disabilities in the Long Beach and Greater Long Beach Area