Meet Antoine

Antoine came to Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota with his sights set on an auto industry job. He has a combination of barriers that are common with people who use GESMN's services: a traumatic brain injury that affects memory and comprehension, past involvement in the criminal justice system and no driver's license.

GESMN specializes in helping people find work that’s a great fit for their talents and find employers that can accommodate and work alongside someone's unique barriers. After Antoine's skills assessment, GESMN helped him secure a spot at a community-based worksite — a car dealership in St. Cloud.

From day one, the dealership manager was impressed with Antoine. His positive attitude and attention to detail helped him land a part-time job offer as a detailer. This meant he'd achieved the first goal that he’d set when he started at GESMN, so it was time to set new ones, including full-time employment and finding permanent housing.

Work can impact government benefits for people with disabilities. GESMN has specialists who can cut through the confusion and help people make confident decisions about their employment. After a benefits analysis with our Work Incentives Connection program, Antoine decided to move to full time work at the car dealership, which allowed him to budget and find a house to rent as well. That's two more goals met.

Today Antoine's manager reports he's one of their most dedicated employees and is always smiling. Moving from unemployment and transitional housing to full time employment and permanent housing is an enormous accomplishment, but Antoine's not done setting goals. Cindy Brenna, a GESMN support consultant who works with Antoine, summed it up like this: "Antoine is such a hard worker. He wants to grow his career and wants to do good in the world."