Arlington thrift shop gives special-needs kids real-world skills

ARLINGTON — It’s the simple things.

Folding a pair of pants and arranging the matching jacket on a hanger. Washing and drying a vase before finding a spot on the shelf. Choosing the right color of sticker to mark the price of a knickknack.

These are skills that can make a big difference in the life of a teen or young adult with special needs. Getting a handle on tasks that apply in a workplace is a bridge to independence as they prepare to leave the public school system.

The Arlington School District has partnered with two nonprofits, Quilceda Community Services and Sherwood Community Services, to get special education students out of the classroom and into a working thrift shop where they can practice real-world skills. It’s a chance to see what students are capable of in terms of future employment and to lay the foundation for a smooth transition from school to work.

Community Thrift is a second-hand store run out of a former dairy at 604 E. Gilman Ave. Items for sale are donated by individuals or by Foss Appraisal Service, a Seattle-based company that runs estate sales.

“People come in on Mondays because they know it’s estate sale pick-up day,” said Karen Harper, a volunteer with Quilceda Community Services. “The variety is amazing to me.”

Profits go to Quilceda and Sherwood community services to provide daily care and longterm resources like technology and medical support for people with disabilities.

The store recently added a bargain annex in a smaller building next to the main barn. That’s where Arlington students work for about three hours a day Monday through Thursday with the school district’s transition team.

The team includes coordinator Donna Peery and two job coaches, Alicia Mose and Carrie Wilson.

Carrie Wilson’s son, 21-year-old James Wilson, is a success story. She worked closely with the district to focus on functional, practical education for him and, as a result, his autism hasn’t stopped him from becoming mostly independent. He now works at Cascade Valley Hospital, catching the bus to and from work and making a living wage on his own.

Wilson remembers being told at one point that her son would always struggle socially, a barrier for holding down a job.

“But he does everything that you and I would do to communicate,” she said. “It’s all about choices and expectations.”

Arlington schools started focusing on job-centered education for special needs students last year and has partnerships with several other local businesses. “The community is really coming together and finding jobs for our kids to do,” Peery said. “It helps to have the right people on your team.”

The Community Thrift program is unique because it caters to students with limited abilities who would struggle in most of the other job training options.

“The students we have here are the kids who generally would be sitting in a classroom learning skills in isolation,” Peery said. “This is so much more valuable.”

There are about 12 students eligible for the program. No more than four or five can work at a time because of the tight space and need for supervision.

“We’re kind of at the ground level here,” Mose said. “But it’s all coming together.”

Val Tracy, 18, worked on hanging up clothes and pricing items during her first day at the thrift shop last week. She likes being out of the classroom, she said. She’s still getting used to things at the shop and hasn’t met too many new people yet.

Will Peseau, who’s looking forward to his 20th birthday later this month, picked out a vase to give to his grandpa while sorting through items at the bargain annex. He liked pricing the knickknacks and was excited to hear a phone message from his mom telling him “great job” halfway through the day.

Working in a retail setting like the bargain annex combines a lot of critical skills, Mose said. The tasks require coordination and physical control along with customer service and social skills. Students learn how to focus, follow directions and finish each job they start. They’re taught to greet each customer with a smile when they walk through the door.

Those smiles are infectious. That might be the most important skill of all.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.