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10/28/2015 08:30 AMThe SARAH Redemption Center in East Haven bustles with activity. The workers are busy sweeping and cleaning, emptying bins, and processing recyclables. In the middle of the activity is Ricky Rosa.
Ricky started his work for SARAH as a member of a cleaning crew, but soon after, he was chosen to be a part of the SARAH Recycles Program.
According to the SARAH Redemption Center website, one of its goals is to “help to find jobs for adults with intellectual and other disabilities who can and want to work. SARAH Recycles was started with the idea to have SARAH supported workers collect donated returnable bottles and cans and over the past few years it has grown tremendously.”
Ricky began as a supported worker who traveled to local businesses to collect recyclables from the SARAH containers.
As the recycling program grew, the SARAH Redemption Center opened at 690 Foxon Road in East Haven and is now open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ricky works from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“It’s great here,” says Ricky. “I meet a lot of people and have a lot of new friends. They helped me here and I like to make minimum wage. I’m happy to work.”
Since starting at the Redemption Center in 2014, Ricky has learned to help in many different areas, including operating the “tipper,” which moves the recyclables to containers so they are ready to be transported.
In addition to meeting those who come into the center to do their recycling—people can bring their clean cans and bottles to the counter in their original container for a full five-cent refund—Ricky has enjoyed getting to know his coworkers and those who work with the organization.
“I met a friend who drives the truck, so I see him when he comes to get the trailer,” says Ricky. “My favorite boss is Eddie Cortez—he’s a funny guy.”
Ricky enjoys using his new iPhone to call and text his friends. He says they often talk about his favorite things: movies and music. Ricky loves to download movies (his favorites are The Sandlot, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and the Jurassic Park movies) and buy music (he enjoys Latino star Daddy Yankee, Johnny Cash, and the Backstreet Boys).
While he enjoys these things in his spare time, his main focus is his job. Ricky’s efforts at work recently earned him the Outstanding Self-Advocate Award at SARAH Inc.’s Appreciation and Award Ceremony held on Oct. 14 at the Stony Creek Brewery.
“We have this event every year to show our appreciation to our volunteer and donors and recognize some of our employees,” says Laura Andrews, SARAH’s marketing and communications coordinator. “One of our goals is to make individuals 100 percent independent.”
When Ricky started, a van picked him up and dropped him off to and from work each day. Now he uses the My Ride bus to coordinate his own transportation. The award celebrated that accomplishment and more.
“Ricky found a niche in recycling,” says Andrews. “He has learned so much and grown so much. We’re lucky to have him here—I don’t know what we’d do without him.”
Ricky enjoyed the awards ceremony, noting it was special to have his mother, grandmother, younger brother Juan, and two nieces in attendance to see him receive his award. Ricky enjoys spending time with his family, which also includes his stepfather. He enjoys shopping and paying bills with his mother and visiting the food trucks at Long Wharf with his stepfather.
Ricky was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where is biological father lives, along with 12 brothers and four sisters and many nieces and nephews. Ricky moved to the United States with his baby brother and his mother in 1992 when he was four years old.
While he has lived in the United State for many years, he has visited Puerto Rico a number of times. Ricky is looking forward to seeing many members of his family when he and his mother travel to Puerto Rico for Christmas.
“My mom doesn’t like to have Christmas here—we like to have it there, where it’s so warm,” says Ricky, who attended ACES. “We like to go to the mall there and the beaches. The food is also good.”
In addition to movies, music, and traveling, Ricky also enjoys sports. A Yankees and Knicks fan, he participated in the Special Olympics in 2013 and 2014, doing tennis in the Summer Olympics and basketball in the Fall Olympics. While he enjoyed it, he doesn’t plan to compete again.
“My goal is to keep working,” says Ricky. “The Special Olympics were fun, but I like to work and be happy.”