Dighton redemption center gives employees with disabilities a workplace to call home

DIGHTON — Town Line Redemption Center Assistant Program Manager Jeannine Camara-Jackson said the center is more than just a place to redeem empty cans and bottles.

The state-operated business on County Street hires people who have developmental disabilities as staff members.

"We try to focus on their strengths and teach them valuable work skills," she said. "We assist them with achieving life goals."

Dighton resident Bill Bradshaw, 70, said he regularly visits the center — which pays customers five cents for each bottle or can with a Massachusetts deposit label — with his dog Mickey to redeem bottles and cans.

"I like the approach they have with employing those who are handicapped," he said. "My dog likes coming here, and when he comes to the entrance, they give him a dog biscuit."

Camara-Jackson said the workers offer biscuits to all dogs that come to the facility with their owner.

"They always ask the owner if they can give a biscuit to their dog," she said." We have some customers that come every few months. I think some come for the socialization piece."

Camara-Jackson said Town Line Redemption Center has 18 employees who have developmental disabilities who are paid the state's $15 per hour minimum wage.

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"There are individuals here who have graduated from area school systems that are over 22 years old," she said. "We have folks in their 60s who still want to work."

Camara-Jackson said the employees' work schedules "are tailored to fit their needs and interests."

Town Line Redemption Center job training

Camara-Jackson said some workers are trained to manage cash registers and provide customers with deposit payments.

"Once they master the skill of paying a customer, they can use that skill at another employment opportunity if they wish," she said.

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Town Line Redemption employee Tricia Reeds, 50, of Seekonk, said she learned how to operate a cash register, and being a cashier makes "me feel a real accomplishment."

"I've been here four years, and I love this place," she said. "It's like a family here. I've built up my self-esteem every day."

Camara-Jackson said Reed's work skills enabled her to get hired as a maintenance worker by Cardi's Furniture & Mattresses in Attleboro last November.

"She is getting good reviews from her bosses," Camara-Jackson said.

She said workers are trained to sort the cans and bottles that customers bring to the facility.

"There is often a ton of bottles and cans," Camara-Jackson said. "Coke products have to go to one distributor, and Pepsi has to go to another. Polar Budweiser goes to Anheuser Busch. The workers and staff have to sort out the brands, and it's a lot. They are so good at it."

Town Line Redemption social skills instruction

Camara-Jackson said Town Line Redemption also offers social skills groups that teach workers how to conduct themselves during a job interview and cope with stress.

"We do mock interviews with them," she said. "They learn how to cope with stress by doing deep breathing."

Town Line Redemption employee Diana Moulton, 49, said she has benefited from the social skills training and a previous exercise instruction program offered by Cooperative Production, a Dighton-based vocational institute.

"I was in the Cooperative Production Day program, and I left because I wanted to work and make money," said Moulton, a Taunton native and Attleboro resident. "I did exercises, and that got me moving, and it was good for my head."

Camara-Jackson said Moulton "loves to take care of people," and she plans to work as a volunteer at Taunton Area Community Table, a non-profit agency on Bay Street that serves meals to people in need.

"We try to connect our workers with the community," she said.

Town Line Redemption art instruction

Camara-Jackson said the center also provides employees with weekly art lessons. And employees are encouraged to create designs and photographs for publication on the agency's Facebook page.

Employee Zachary Taylor, 23, said one of his oil paintings was awarded a first-place prize from the Taunton Art Association in 2019.

Town Line Redemption program supervisor Kim Garrison said Taylor drew images of her King Charles Cavalier dog Molly and a wolf that she displays on a wall in her office.

Taylor, an Attleboro resident and Taunton native, said he took a Town Line Redemption training class that encourages people to pursue their ambitions.

"Just because you have a disability, that does not mean you can't enjoy the thing you love doing," Taylor said. "I love to photograph and draw."

Camara-Jackson said a worker's "self-esteem plays a big role in success."

"We are not just a redemption center," she said. "We proudly support individuals. We employ individuals with developmental disabilities. We like to say they have varying abilities to try."

Camara-Jackson said businesses and community groups that regularly cash in their bottles or cans at Town Line Redemption can have an account set up for them at the facility.

Additional information about Town Line Redemption Center is available on the facility's website.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Dighton: Townline Redemption Center hires people with disabilities