EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Jim Seibert loved his job at a local restaurant. He worked his way up from rolling flatware and napkins to ushering diners to their tables and telling them the day's lunch specials.
Then the restaurant closed last month.
"When I'm working, I'm in a real happy mood," said Seibert, 49, of Evansville. "Also, when I'm not working, every day is a dull day."
Employers increasingly see the value of hiring the disabled, say staff members at ARC, which serves developmentally disabled children and adults in Southwestern Indiana.
Rudy Winderlich is manager of ARC's Community Job Link program, which helps clients such as Seibert find jobs and offers them support services.
"The economy," he said, "has really hurt us, just like everybody else. The majority of clients we work with are looking for entry-level positions. Usually they are the first ones to be let go."
When ARC clients search for work these days, "they're competing with 70, 80, 100 people," he said.
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