Despite Challenges, Holding Down a Job at McDonald’s
I can read, say, a text message from Ashley Smallwood, my Bridgewell job coach,
that says, “See you at 4.” Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t, so Ashley has to remind me to think before I speak.
My last job was cleaning the stadium of the North Shore Navigators, a collegiate baseball team that’s part of a New England league.
About seven years ago, a state agency that was helping me recommended an employment program at Bridgewell, a place
that helps people who have disabilities and other challenges.
I’m learning to use the deep fryer, so sometimes I make the French fries.
A. I clean the dining room and refill the ice and condiments and help customers.
Peter Barrett, 47, is a crew member at a McDonald’s in Lynn, Mass.
