Wichita ? “I’d do just about anything for her,” Bobby Hill said, taking a break from opening boxes and referring to his boss.

Tuesday Morning manager Lavona Weppler, left, talks with Bobby Hill, a Starkey client, as he unloads a truck in Wichita in this Oct. 20 photo. Tuesday Morning is one of Wichita’s businesses that employ people with disabilities.

His attitude is one reason Lavona Weppler is delighted to have Hill as an employee at the Tuesday Morning store in west Wichita that she manages.

Hill is part of the supported employment program at Starkey and is one of more than 100 people with physical or mental disabilities who are filling an assortment of jobs through such programs in Wichita.

Jamie Schneider, one of the owners of Central States Electric, recently was forced by the economy to lay off two disabled employees she’d hired through the Kansas Elks Training Center for the Handicapped, or KETCH.

“It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life,” she said.

“These were employees who truly, truly wanted to be here,” she said. “Never missed a day. Never complained about their job. Were never late.

“And you don’t always have that with other employees.”

Deceiving numbers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a report earlier this year that about 8 in 10 people with a disability are not in the labor force, compared with 3 in 10 of those without a disability.

But the vast majority of disabled people who are not in the labor force reported that they did want a job, the report said.

The unemployment rate for those with a disability was 14.9 percent in 2009, well above the rate for others, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

Even that’s misleading, said Ron Pasmore, president and CEO of KETCH.

“They’re only working with who’s looking for a job,” he said. The rate for those with disabilities is “the highest unemployment rate of any minority in our country.”

KETCH, Starkey and others who have employment programs say those with disabilities are placed in jobs that are suited to their abilities; job coaches follow up to make sure things are working out.

Starkey has 21 people in community jobs; KETCH has about 100.

In certain cases, businesses who hire people with disabilities are eligible for tax credits through the Work Opportunity Credit program. Benefits also are available to some businesses for expenses associated with making the business accessible.

Doing whatever is needed

Weppler had been hesitant to hire Hill, who is 53. But a regular customer whose spouse works at Starkey persuaded her to give it a try.

For the past eight months or so, Hill has been unloading freight, opening boxes, putting together furniture and otherwise helping.

“He picked it up very quickly,” Weppler said, and frequently shows her the right way to put together furniture. He works about 10 hours a week and is on the regular payroll. He’s also popular with store regulars.

Hill, who has developmental disabilities, can be difficult to understand sometimes. It’s a little bit like having a young child, she said. “If you’re the mom, you understand everything.”

Schneider, at Central States, said one of her employees was blind; the other was deaf. The blind worker shredded documents; the deaf employee did data entry, billing “and whatever we needed.”

Both will be hired back if the economy improves and they’re still looking for jobs, Schneider said.

‘I love to hire them’

The company still helps KETCH with job assessments. Clients are brought in for two-week trials to assess their strong and weak points as they’re evaluated for which job is best suited to them.

Darryl Winston, director of Wichita Biddy Basketball, currently has two employees who came to him from KETCH. Through the years, he has had others who have done “anything from secretarial work to janitorial work to scorekeeping during games. … There’s a plethora of jobs that they do here.

“It’s not a handout. It’s jobs that I hire people for, and if they fit the criteria, I love to hire them,” he said.

Hiring those with disabilities also fits with the Salvation Army’s ministry of helping people, he said.

Kelly Taylor, general manager of Carlos O’Kelly’s west location, said one employee she hired through Starkey recently retired after 12 years of working at the restaurant. A second has been there a decade.

Both clean tables, and both are customer favorites, she said, often receiving tips directly.

“They love coming to work,” and make great employees if given tasks that are well-defined and rote. They also want and need feedback, both the good and the bad, just as any employee does, she said.

Her employees have taught her that “they want to be part of a team just like anyone else, and play a part in the team just like anyone else, and be treated just like anyone else.”

Weppler said she had learned from Hill not to prejudge.

“He’s just awesome.”