Denzel training
As a shy young man on the autism spectrum who had been assaulted on public transportation, Denzel McNair did not feel comfortable in public spaces. Before joining our Advance program at The Bronx, Denzel lack self-confidence, and struggled to communicate and integrate with groups of people. Estranged from his mother and brother, he felt truly alone in the world, but he needed to get a job.
Denzel connected to Goodwill NYNJ two years ago while a resident in an independent living facility. Admitting one of his biggest challenges was fear of filling out job applications because of reading and spelling issues, we supported him during the interviewing process and prepared him to get and keep a job. In the discovery process, we learned about his job interests and abilities, and of his love of animals. “Growing up we always had a dog. Animals are more straightforward than people about what they want.”
With this insight, we began to ease Denzel into the workforce as an intern dog walker. Coaching gave him the confidence to engage with dog owners on a one-on-one basis. In one of the career sessions that Goodwill NYNJ offers to all program participants, Denzel heard of a job at Shake Shack. Our placement team helped him with the application process, coached him on how to interview and transfer his patience and caring of animals into working with the public at the restaurant, where Denzel started as a greeter in January 2019.
On Denzel’s first day on the job, our team was there on site to support, answer questions and let him know of our confidence in him. Denzel admitted, “I was so overwhelmed that I broke down and cried on my first day at work.” Today, Denzel has taken additional responsibilities at the kitchen, including light food preparation, serving and light maintenance/cleaning. Denzel has come a long way thanks to Goodwill NYNJ and is hoping to expand his hours to work full-time. Denzel now has dreams for the future and thoughts of starting his own dog walking business!