Are sheltered workshops for disabled exploitation, or a lifeline?

Excerpt from TwinCities.com: (click for full article)

Workers in wheelchairs swarm around a table, stuffing envelopes.

One man runs in a circle, asking people to tie his shoe. At the next table, workers are prying plastic gaskets out of their casings. A woman is sprawled in an easy chair, sound asleep, her mouth wide open.

Everything about that scene bothers Scott Schifsky.

He and a growing number of advocates say sheltered workshops -- such as the one operated by Achieve Services Inc. in Blaine -- should be abolished. They say it's wrong for people with disabilities to be grouped together to do menial work for less than minimum wage.

"This is a civil rights issue," said Schifsky, program director of The Arc of Minnesota, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "We are segregating a minority class."

Comments

[JJ Hanley]

What Mr. Schifsky describes is not a sheltered workshop. It's a failed agency. I too have seen places described as sheltered workshops when they are actually just warehouses. Sheltered workshops should not be abolished. They should be one of a range of options available for adults with dd to live productive, empowered, independent lives. For some individuals, a well-run sheltered workshop will provide that opportunity. But it shouldn't be the only option (as it is in most communities today.