Portland Supported Employment, Her Excellent Idea

In her last year as a special ed teacher,  our daughter, Rachel Bloom. developed a program for  developmentally delayed high school students.  The idea was preparation to live on their own after graduation.  Find an apartment and learn to cook were two strategies.  She helped them develop a small business--a re-sale shop with secondhand clothes.  (A nod to her mother was inclusion of a very large indoor kitchen composter with lots of red wigglers.)

Six years ago she opened PSE, Portland Supported Employment, her own business, to find jobs for people with a wide range of disabilities.  It has grown to include an enclave in partnership with a local non-profit computer recycling company,  Free Geek.  Recreation and crafts programs were added in the first couple of years.   More recent is the PSE theatre program.  Our visit coincided with the latest production, "Rainbow Kittens with Wings."

Many young, creative people make their way to Portland as an appealing place to live after college.  Rachel has these kind of people on her staff; they are enthusiastic about working at PSE where an important human service is provided and they can apply artistic talents in their work with clients.  The afternoon performance we attended--the show was presented six times--was lively and spirited.  We loved seeing how much the performers enjoyed themselves.

Besides acting, singing, and dancing,  clients had made items to sell.  At the right is a zine, a periodic publication and two of the buttons created by the PSE All Stars, as they call themselves.  Staff  members went all out. Besides a beautifully produced free program, there was a comic book with text and images from the first act and a CD of the songs written for the show.  Story was developed by Jaime Lee Currier and Anthony Thomas Schatz who appeared onstage in his magician's outfit (along with writing music, art-making, he performs at kids' parties).

Tony we knew from the summer of my grandson's third birthday. His band rocked the party with a very lively "Happy Birthday" song.  I have a photo of a startled Zach who, like the rest of us, had never heard it done quite like that before.

I hope this opens a window into Portland, Oregon, mellow northwest city, the one we hope, along with the indigenious people, does not grow too fast.  The city where a girl from the East coast who moved to Portland because she and her spouse love the outdoors never dreamed she'd become a successful businesswoman--and producer of an original musical for a very special population.

 

Comments

[donna]

Very cool and inspirational!

She must have had a great mom....

[naomi dagen bloom]

thanks, donna. more than half the credit goes to her wonderful father. -naomi

[judy lombardi]

What a wonderful story and update on Rachel and her family. Very very cool. judy