Company Helps Those With Disabilities Find Meaningful Work

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There is a push across Minnesota and the rest of the county in the month of October to find people with disabilities meaningful work.

One St. Paul man found just that -- in a place you might not expect. Nathan Barclay's incredible talent lifts customers' spirits, along with his own.

At a stop along University Avenue, known for their wide aisles and shelves of furnace filters and flashlights, it's not that "save big money" jingle you hear inside Menard's.

"I was very excited to hear about this job that I got," Nathan said.

A self-taught piano player, Nathan's been at it since he was five. He doesn't read music, but knows more than 60 songs by ear. As a 23-year-old with developmental disabilities, he struggled to find work, until he landed this gig at Menards last year.

"I strongly believe that everyone can in fact work, no matter what your disability is," he said.

Carol Rydell is the Service Development Coordinator at Kaposia -- a company focused on finding people with disabilities fitting jobs.

"Not everyone has the musical genius of Nathan, but everyone has strengths," she said. "That belief that people with disabilities don't work is the primary barrier to employment. It's not so much the disability -- it's the expectation about employment."

Rydell says the movement is gaining steam in Minnesota. Right now, 11 percent of people with disabilities have jobs they're paid directly by an employer for, while 80 percent are still in center-based employment, making less than the minimum wage -- something Kaposia won't allow for its clients.

"Kaposia is a great company for people who have disabilities, and they should have the opportunity to go out into the field and find jobs," Nathan said.

It was a music store that connected Kaposia to this Menards, and to a new meaning for this "master of keys."

You can listen to Nathan Barclay on the piano at the St. Paul Menards from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. He also plays at two nursing homes each week, and he's available for private gigs on his Master of Keys Facebook page.