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Landscaping business helps disabled bloom
By Melissa Matchak
For clients of the HOPE Rehabilitation Services program who feel they have a green thumb, a recently developed program allows them to put their gardening skills to use. HOPE Rehabilitation Services, based in San Jose, was founded in 1952 as an organization that serves people with developmental disabilities.
A Cut Above, created in June 1999, is a commercial landscaping enterprise operated by HOPE. It is one of many HOPE employment and training programs that enables people with developmental disabilities to learn work skills and hold a job in the community, according to Michelle Gaspar, coordinator of A Cut Above.
"Our program is another way to employ clients of HOPE," Gaspar said.
Clients of HOPE are referred primarily from the San Andreas Regional Center, which helps find jobs for developmentally disabled people after they graduate from high school, according to Lori Arnberg, production control manager for HOPE.
"We're getting more and more interest in the cut above program," Arnberg said. "The more we give people the opportunity to go out and try it, the more people we find that are interested in it."
Gaspar said her current crew of three maintains both commercial and residential landscapes, mowing lawns, hedging and planting flowers. Other services the program provides include fertilization, pruning of trees and shrubs, sprinkler system checks and sprinkler replacement and weed control.
The cut above crew goes out every day and services approximately 11 contracted commercial and residential landscapes from Gilroy to Mountain View and in between. Gaspar said they also offer one-time residential backyard cleanups.
Arnberg said cut above crew members make from six dollars to seven dollars an hour depending on how long they've been working and what their skill level is.
Gaspar said the age of crew members ranges from late 20's to late 40's, and they are able to stay with the program as long as they like.
"They stay as long as they like the job and are able to do it," Gaspar said. "One of the crew has been with us since the beginning."
For more information about A Cut Above, call Michelle Gaspar at 408.298.1233.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
