CLI Incorporated

P.O. Box 508

Norwalk, Ohio 44857

CLIsupports.com

419-706-5137

Week of August 12th, 2024

CLI Volunteers are busy every week, whether book-dusting for the "Friends of the Norwalk Public Library" or taking care of odd jobs for

"When Pigs Fly"

It's fair season (Erie County Fair last week)

The Huron Pier is always a fun walk

John's usual--

Congratulations to the winning team for our 2024 3-tourney cornhole series. We had a nice turnout this past Friday. I appreciate everyone that came out to play or just to hang out. It was a beautiful night! Holly, Haven & I are already planning our 2025 summer events.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be rolling out our new revisions to CLI's Vocational Habilitation program. We've always helped people earn money-- both in the community and in the workshop-- and we're going to keep doing that. However, Haven and her crew have built much more robust educational and career exploration components to the paid work experience that we already do. Also, CLI is working with Firelands Local to make the workshop better mirror a real community workplace. We've always really pushed productivity and worker responsibility-- but we've also allowed the workshop experience to be a bit too flexible. We still want it to be fun and accommodating, but we also need to make it good training. I don't think it will be shockingly different, but it will be different, with more rigidly set working shifts. It probably will mean slightly fewer hours of paid work each pay period as we ramp up the curriculum. Also, as the employer, it will be Firelands Local's job to set worker schedules. This means that if someone wants to be scheduled for more working hours, that person will need to make that request (with CLI staff's help) to James Johnson. James will be tracking each person's productivity and attendance, which will be key points of discussion during these interviews. We think this will be instructive and we think it is also necessary (and a bit overdue) to give Firelands Local more direct control over their payroll expense. The workshop pays $10.46 per hour and we've had quite a few requests from new people wanting to work at the shop.

We'll be pushing out the new brochures in future newsletters. In the meantime-- feel free to ask questions!

Have a great week!

John

Any interest in CLI's newest "Thursday Date Night" support service? If you've got a significant other or a platonic bestie that you'd like to hit the town with, we can help you spend that hard-earned cabbage!

Thanks to the Norwalk Parks & Rec Department for hosting CLI's Summer Youth camp at the Ernsthausen Rec Center. This was a great opportunity for these young people to get some real world work experience for real $.

Don't forget that CLI will help you plan & do fun stuff with your friends!

Don't be shy!

Thanks to the DODD ADS Quality Pilot Grant, CLI has a whole fresh new curriculum around technology and social media training-- including a lending library of 5G iPads that people can sign out and take home!

Tell Haven in you want to learn more.

Congratulations to the Firelands Local Boat Wrap Recycling Team for being featured by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and The OSU Sea Grant newsletters!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE!

Firelands Local LLC



James Johnson

james@firelandslocal.com

419-921-6400

CLI's Good Works Cafe offers a free community lunch every Friday afternoon at the Norwalk Reservoir,

staffed entirely by volunteers with DD

with food donated by OHgo and other community partners!

Question of the week



Q: How does someone get a job with Firelands Local at the workshop?

A: There are two answers to this question. Firelands Local is just an employer, so if someone wants to work and can do the job independently, they can just apply to General Manager, James Johnson.

The 2nd longer answer is that CLI works closely with Firelands Local and runs supported work crews on the workshop floor on Monday, Wednesday & Friday every week. CLI offers a comprehensive Vocational Habilitation service that is geared to teaching people work skills so that they can be ready for a community-integrated job. Firelands Local offers CLI program participants 2 hours each week of paid employment (if they want it). If someone wants additional hours, CLI staff will help them meet with General Manager James Johnson to ask for those additional hours. James will consider the current production demands vs. the employee's productivity in determining whether Firelands can offer that employee more hours.

One thing that people often don't understand is how Firelands Local LLC makes money. It is true that CLI owns the LLC, but CLI is not allowed to give Firelands money to pay workers. This means that Firelands Local has to make money the old fashioned way-- by processing enough assembly, enough recycling, enough shredding, enough mobile work crews so that the shop earns more money than it needs in order to make payroll, pay rent, and put fuel in their trucks & vans.

Video(s) of the Week: