“We are a job training center with the hope we can eventually get them a job out in the community,” Teri Vercellotti, Fernley Industries thrift store manager, said.
Fernley Industries recently celebrated its first year in business. After recognizing a need in the community, the parent group from Fallon Industries opted to open another location in Fernley.
Fernley Industries employs seven staff members and 16 individuals with disabilities. The individuals with disabilities range in age from 18 to 60 and have a variety of physical and mental disabilities.
The disabled individuals work closely with case managers and resident advisors to determine what task they can do. Some of the individuals described as level two, are non-verbal and are very limited in what they can do. These individuals generally live in a controlled environment with 24-hour supervision. They perform task, like cutting rags and peeling backing off of sign material that is sent off to be recycled.
The entrance to Fernley Industries in Fernely, Nev.
Level three and four individuals perform task like sorting through clothes, testing electronics and placing items out in the store for sale.
“Most of them are really helpful and they’ve come a long way,” Bob Maddux, an employee of Fernley Industries, said. Fernley Industries has done its best to weather the economic storm while seeing the reality of budget cuts and even the closure of a mental hospital affect them.
“One individual came to us from the mental institution after it closed,” Vercelloti said. “I don’t know what he would have done if we weren’t here.”
Craig Golon, a disabled worker who describes himself as a warehouse employee, is thankful that Fernley Industries is open because without them he doesn’t know what he would do.
Training disabled individuals is only half the task, however, as the storefront offers the community a place to shop and donate items for reuse.
Loretta Anderson, an employee with Fernley Industries, does most of the pricing and says she tries to keep thing as cheap as she can because there is no real way to tell how much some of the stuff is worth.
“We have a lot of eBay sellers come and go through our stuff everyday,” Anderson said. “We can’t put things on eBay because of how closely related to the government we are.”
Craig Golon level four employee discarding box of unusable donations at Fernley Industries in Fernley, Nev.
Last week the thrift store had over 80 drop-off donations and 30 pick-up donations. Donations range from knick knacks, furniture, and clothes to vehicles. However, not all donations are useful.
“We get a lot of garbage dropped off especially on Sundays when we are closed,” Vercellotti said. “We have a 20-yard dumpster that we have to empty at least twice a month.”
The store averages about $15,000 a month in sales that go to fund its operations and the individuals with disabilities employed there. The disabled individuals are paid varying amounts depending on their capabilities and the amount of work they can accomplish.
“The thrift store is the easy part,” Vercellotti said. “Our goal is to get them jobs in the community and make them as independent as possible.”
