Struggling Economy Hits People With Disabilities in Workplace

MENTOR, OHIO -- Bill Sutton is hard at work cleaning dishes at HomeTown Buffet in Mentor.
"I like it here. There's nice people," he said during a break on his six-hour daytime shift.
Sutton, 49, of Eastlake, is one of 120 disabled people who found work at various restaurants, laundries, hotels and factories through the Lake County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities' Community Employment Program.
But such jobs are becoming more scarce in today's economy.
The national unemployment rate is 10.2 percent.
However, at least 62 percent of people with mental and physical disabilities are currently out of work, according to U.S. Census data.