A nice article where the advocacy of a job coach and mother made this possible for a young man that is in the Albany area...
From 'not employable' to honored Hannaford employee:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/arti...ight#taboola-4
"Many people had written off Nah’Quis Williams.
He is deaf, nonverbal and diagnosed with severe autism
Experts declared him not employable.
“I would not accept that,” said his mother, Nanesha Davis, of Albany.
“His mother and I were determined to help Nah’Quis achieve what he wanted most: to get a job and make his own money,” said Cathy Nasser, his job coach, who has worked with Williams for the past 14 years.
“We would not let him lose his dream,” Nasser said.
The two women have been relentless in helping Williams achieve a potential few believed was possible. He is a valued part-time employee at the Hannaford supermarket in Delaware Plaza, where he stocks shelves in four-hour shifts three afternoons per week.
“We’re lucky to have Nah’quis. He has a strong work ethic and takes pride in doing a great job,” said assistant store manager Dave Leue.
Managers presented Williams with the Service Star of the Month Award in March. The monthly recognition is given to an exemplary employee who receives praise from customers and fellow workers for outstanding service among the 110-employee staff. Williams, 25, has worked at the store as a stocker for nearly three years, always with Nasser alongside him.
In addition to reporting early and staying late for his shifts, Williams is known as “the best blocker in the store,” Williams said.
He is obsessive about aligning rows of boxed and canned foods in precise columns on the shelves, making certain that each label is lined up facing directly forward – never off-kilter. “Blocking” and “conditioning” are terms used in supermarket parlance to depict tidy, attractive shelves of products that appeal to shoppers.
“We consider expert blocking a superpower, and Nah’Quis has it,” Leue said.
It has been a hard road traveled by Williams, his mother and Nasser, a special education teaching assistant who started working with Williams when he was 11.
“Since my son can’t speak, I have been his voice and his advocate,” said his mother, who communicates with him using sign language, as Nasser does.
Williams graduated from Maywood School, a K-12 special education program in Albany, and also the Career & Technical School, or CTE, both run by Capital Region BOCES. He also walked across the stage at Albany High School’s commencement in 2018.
“Nah’Quis graduated three times and all he ever wanted was to get a job,” his mother said. She and Nasser struck out each time they tried to help him find employment.
Davis is a former part-time deli worker at the Delmar Hannaford and she spoke with a manager, who set up an interview for Williams. With Nasser at his side signing, Williams was offered a job.
“Thank God for Mrs. Nasser. She’s been a blessing to Nah’Quis and to our family,” Davis said.
Nasser has worked with numerous special needs students, but she developed a special bond with Williams after working with him for so many years.
“He’s a very smart young man with a tremendous work ethic,” Nasser said. “We joke that he’s fortunate to have two mothers, one who’s Black and one who’s white.”
At Hannaford, the worker and job coach make an unlikely pair. She is a gray-haired, 65-year-old grandmother of two. Williams, who towers over his coach, is a bear of a man who weighs more than 300 pounds.
“He’s a gentle giant. Everyone loves him at Hannaford,” said Nasser, who has a teenage grandson on the autism spectrum.
I met them on Monday afternoon as Nasser and Williams wheeled out a large industrial cart stacked 4-feet high and several rows deep with 20-pound bags of jasmine rice, boxes of Goya Spanish rice and cases of Goya canned black beans, bottles of salsa and other Goya products.
“We call it Goya Monday to stock back up after customers shop for taco Tuesday,” Nasser said.
To reach deep into the depleted bottom shelves, Nasser lays down on his side and aligns cans of red and black beans and chickpeas. He empties each case and hands the empty cardboard box to Nasser, who stacks empty containers at the end of the aisle.
There are hundreds of pounds of products in the cart that he will lift, reach, stretch and place on shelves. He will stock four or five full carts’ worth of products in his four-hour shift.
“Even if his shift’s over, he won’t leave until every last can is shelved,” Nasser said.
His mother eyed his meticulous Hannaford handiwork and smiled. “That’s just how our pantry looks at home,” she said. “He doesn’t like anything out of place.”
As Williams emptied cases of cans and boxes of Goya products, lost in his work, he occasionally grinned, chuckled to himself and made signs with his hands.
“He’s just talking to himself,” Nasser said. “He’s proud of his work.”
One important addition Nasser made was to add lettering to his yellow safety vest that reads, “Deaf Associate.” It prevented confusion among customers who asked him questions without getting a response. Nasser interprets with sign language or a customer writes down a query on a piece of paper.
Williams is especially proud when he helps a customer find an elusive product in an aisle where he is stocking shelves.
“I call it his Vanna White move,” Nasser explained. “He’ll spin around, smile, throw his arms out and hand the customer a specific can of green beans he couldn’t find.”
Nasser said Hannaford has been an exceptional employer who pays her an hourly wage in addition to Williams and assists with any accommodation needs.
“They’re a team, they do an awesome job and they add value to our store,” Leue said.
Nasser uses his paycheck to purchase clothing, sneakers and electronics. He recently bought an iPad and installed Proloquo2Go, a communication app on which he taps symbols that are converted into a voice that speaks his sentences.
Nasser serves as a respite worker for Williams’ mother, who also has a 16-year-old son. Williams cooks his family a full breakfast on Sunday mornings, does his own laundry and his own shopping at Hannaford. Nasser taught Williams to swim, takes him bowling and to the movies.
She is impressed by what she describes as his photographic memory. She told a story about a substitute van driver who transported Williams and eight other disabled people to a day program. The driver relied on GPS on her phone for directions, but her phone ran out of power and she did not have a charger. She began to panic. Williams moved to the front seat and used hand signals to direct the driver where to turn. As navigator, working from memory, he got all passengers home safely.
“Nah’Quis is like family to me,” said Nasser, whose husband of 20 years, James, died last September. “He enriches my life.”
I had a question that she signed to Williams. What’s your favorite part of the job?
“Working on Thursdays,” he signed back. “I get paid on Thursdays.”
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