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Glen Paul students make a difference at St. Joseph Hospital
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December 8, 2009
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 Students from Eureka’s Glen Paul School are making a difference at St. Joseph Hospital and learning valuable life skills simultaneously.
Twice a week, students Alfred Hawkins and his buddy Kevin Gimle arrive at St. Joseph Hospital campus ready to work. Together they walk around to various departments at the General Hospital campus picking up paper to be recycled. It’s a win-win situation for the hospital and students as the students learn about responsibility and the hospital gains a pair of hard-working employees.
Hawkins and Gimle are part of the California Department of Education’s WorkAbility Program, which takes students from special education schools like Glen Paul School and helps them develop life skills by employing them at local businesses and organizations.
“A big part of our program is ‘WorkAbility training’ which helps students develop job skills so that when they graduate they are ready for the world of work,” said student supervisor Bill Hom.
Even though this is a volunteer job, the students learn valuable work skills: they wear uniforms, must arrive on time, and get paid; they interact with staff and patients, and are encouraged to be friendly and personable yet not disruptive. Above all, the program teaches Glen Paul students about responsibility.
“We’re thrilled to have the students here at the hospital and happy that they are learning valuable life skills through their work,” said Marilyn Zibilich, manager of the hospital volunteers at St. Joseph Hospital. Zibilich works with program supervisors like Hom and to keep the students coming back year after year.
Vocational case worker Barbara Mayberry, who oversees the Glen Paul program, said the social skills and work ethic students gain from working in a real workplace are invaluable.
“Working at places like St. Joseph Hospital enables our students to develop skills they can take into the community,” Mayberry said. “It allows them to be productive in their own community.”
Hawkins’ favorite part about the job is the people. “I really look forward to coming here,” he said.
Over the past few years, he and Gimle have struck up a friendship that carries over into their work at the hospital, where hospital staff know them by name and enjoy interacting with them when they come by.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Gimle said of Hawkins.
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