JCFS Chicago is proud to join the nonprofit community and celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Each week, we will be highlighting a client success story of someone who found meaningful employment through JVS Career & Employment. This is Malcom’s story.

Malcolm joined the janitorial crew of the JCFS Chicago Contracted Employment Services Department in December 2018. He was working hard in his role, then suddenly had to take a leave of absence when he and his family were involved in a serious car accident, which required that they all be hospitalized. Malcolm was the first to be released from the hospital and returned to work as soon as he was medically cleared. He continued to work while tending to his family, which included visiting them in the hospital and helping them get settled when they returned home. His supervisor offered to give him lighter duties to help him adjust back to work after his injury, but Malcolm insisted he return to his regular duties and did not miss a beat in his work performance.  

Malcolm routinely tells his supervisor that he will always do his best. He continues to set a great example for new employees and shows a strong dedication in keeping the Illinois Department of Public Health building clean and safe for his co-workers and the state employees who work there. His focus has been on getting his work done correctly and he has even called his supervisor from home on a few occasions when he got back and realized that he may have forgotten to complete a task. He has exhibited a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and true dedication to his job.