January 2023 Special Needs Living Akron/Canton

A Living Example That Hard Work Always Pays Off

Meet Paul Gines, a community employment superstar

WRITTEN BY DEBORAH RILEY

Paul Gines has worked at the Marc’s in North Canton for nearly two years. Since his employment began, Paul has been responsible for maintaining the grocery carts. This job includes collecting them from the parking lot and placing them in rows inside the cart area. Paul is very particular and likes to ensure that the rows he makes are perfect. More recently, Paul has been able to add to his job responsibilities and has taken on the task of stocking frozen and refrigerated foods.

Paul has developed a great relationship with his job coach, Lori, from TWi. Lori describes Paul as kindhearted, hard-working, dedicated and a perfectionist.

Lori checks in with Paul twice a month and is there to support him when he needs assistance. Paul is able to talk to Lori when he is frustrated, and she is able to help him work through any issues. Recently, Paul approached Lori about helping him speak with his supervisor about adding to his job responsibilities.

Lori and Paul spoke about how to best approach his manager to advocate for himself and a change in his responsibilities. After speaking with his manager, using the tools and suggestions given to him by Lori, Paul’s manager agreed to add stocking to his job duties.

Prior to working at Marc’s, Paul held a variety of positions, including Chili’s, Bob Evans, Toys R Us and Walsh University. Paul worked with TWi and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities for his work training and job development. They helped him find his current position with Marcs, which has been a great fit! Paul’s favorite things about Marc’s include stocking, his coworkers, and getting to see his girlfriend at work. One area where Paul sometimes struggles is when customers leave carts all over where they’re not supposed to be. This is something that is challenging for him and leads to feelings of frustration, but it is also something that he is working on. Most of the time he tries to stay positive and smile. One suggestion his job coach, Lori, gave him for days when he is feeling frustrated is to try and make at least three people smile. This has been a helpful tool in turning his day around when Paul is feeling frustrated, as Paul has found it feels good to make others feel good as well. One of Paul’s strengths is that he is open to feedback and suggestions from others.

When this outgoing and friendly guy isn’t at work, he enjoys going out to Subway, Taco Bell and spending his money on video games from The Exchange. He also enjoys going to the library, comics and Dragonball Z.