An agency that creates jobs for residents with special needs has entered a new venture – shredding.
The non-profit Hudson Community Enterprises [HCE], formerly the Occupational Center of Hudson County, places special-needs citizens in permanent jobs through a comprehensive training, placement and follow-up program. In a ribbon-cutting ceremony at HCE’s McGinley Square facility Thursday afternoon, HCE representatives unveiled to local officials and business leaders their latest social achievement: a document-shredding business called Metro Shredding. Part of a new, expansive program that focuses on the many facets of document management, Metro Shredding provides competitively priced, on-site shredding services that help businesses comply with recently enacted privacy laws.
The new component, operated by specially trained disadvantaged county residents and made possible by donations from local philanthropists, supplements three already existing businesses that were formed to meet the same goal, HCE Sales and Marketing Director Dorothy Nicholson said.
"We use the paradigm of the social venture, and the bottom line is the public good instead of [turning a profit]," Nicholson said Thursday. "The goal is to help our special-needs residents become self-reliant and be able to contribute to society."
People who qualify as special-needs residents are those faced with physical disabilities, psychological challenges and/or barriers to employment, Nicholson said. HCE processes approximately 600 clients a year.
Connecting to industry
What sets Metro Shredding apart from other special-needs job placement programs is that that it corresponds directly to the needs of local businesses, Nicholson said. Whereas other similar organizations exclusively train their participants for manufacturing tasks, HCE has discovered that such a strategy is no longer viable in Hudson because of the economic changes the county has recently experienced.
"The factories that employed people in Hudson County have left the area, and demand in the region has shifted from manufacturing jobs to service-related ones," Nicholson said.
HCE has been in the business of providing much-needed services since 1957, the date on which the company began its fulfillment services operation. Still in existence today under the name Metro Fulfillment Services, the company offers product assembly and envelope stuffing. When the training proved beneficial for the county’s special-needs population, HCE’s services were expanded to include a litter patrol branch in the early 1970s. The next step for HCE was the formation of Metro CleanRight, where HCE clients were trained in cleaning both commercial and residential spaces.
HCE’s decision to launch Metro Shredding came after a two-year development period where HCE managers analyzed how the county’s economic landscape has changed, company president Maureen Walliser said.
"We saw that the community is full of law firms, financial firms and accounting entities," Walliser said. "Shredding was a viable option in this community."
Giving to the cause
During the development of its Metro Shredding project, HCE also caught the eye of local philanthropic organizations.
When Marilyn Gelber, executive director of the Brooklyn-based Independence Community Foundation [ICF], first learned of Metro Shredding, she said she was struck by both its forward-looking nature and relevance to the community.
"We love this project," Gelber said Thursday. "We’re very impressed with the organization, their leadership and thoughtfulness in building skills for their clients. It shows real leadership on [HCE’s] part. A lot of sheltered workshops – not that they aren’t important or do good work – but they aren’t connected with where the economy is going. This shows tremendous wisdom. We’re thrilled to be a part of a project that will really help connect people to the real economy."
ICF, which grew out of a one-time $50 million donation from the Brooklyn-based Independence Community Bank when the company went public in 1998, operates independently of the bank to further its commitment to the renewal and revitalization of the neighborhoods where its branches are located. ICF gave Metro Shredding $35,000 toward its beginning operating costs.
The organization’s decision to contribute that money was also supported by HCE’s long-standing reputation as a successful job placement organization in the region, Gelber said.
"When your business is a non-profit and you’ve been around for 30 years, you’re doing something right," she added. "We want to help build skills and independence in the communities that need it."
Another Metro Shredding donor, Provident Bank Foundation, gave Metro Shredding $50,000 toward its cost, and foundation vice president Michael Revesz said his organization’s reasons for contributing to HCE were similar. Revesz, who grew up in Jersey City’s once industry-heavy Lafayette section, said he has seen first-hand the county’s economic shift from manufacturing to service.
"Metro Shredding was one of the most creative things we’ve ever seen," Revesz said. "The organization has a lot of support and respect from the community for adapting to change and [maintaining] a viable organization that keeps with its mission."
Other donors included Public Service Electric & Gas and FedEx.
Any money Metro Shredding makes is circulated back to non-profit parent company HCE, which uses those funds to either supplement existing social programs or initiate new ones.
Impact on locals
County Executive Tom DeGise, who served as the ceremony’s keynote speaker, said he knows first-hand the importance of the work HCE does. DeGise, who said he became familiar with HCE when he served as Jersey City’s City Council President, mentioned his developmentally-challenged daughter in his explanation as to why programs like Metro Shredding are indispensable in a community.
"I encourage all businesses here to join together to make sure this is something that succeeds," DeGise said. "It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity."
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has already contracted to use Metro Shredding for its shredding needs, and DeGise said arrangements with other county units are pending.
In a demonstration after the ribbon-cutting, Metro Shredding employees illustrated the operation from inside the truck that houses the shredding equipment. Supervised by Lakewood resident and Jersey City Firefighter Jose Zayas, Metro Shredding’s three employees gathered the documents, placed them into the shredder and collected the paper for proper disposal.
The crew’s first job happens Monday, when they will drive the short distance down Montgomery Street to St. Peter’s College. Metro Shredding’s three special-needs employees, who come from all over Jersey City, say they’re looking forward to being out there on the job.
Communipaw Avenue resident Juan Guzman, 27, said his training went well. He said he wants to help companies get rid of their paper.
Another employee excitedly described his new job, saying it provides an alternative he didn’t have before.
"I think it’s worthwhile," said Paul Wisniewski, 50. "It’s five dollars per hour. It’s a good-paying job. I want to do this. I don’t have anything better to do."
"It gives me a good feeling," Wisniewski added. "You feel comfortable. You get to meet people."
For more information on Metro Shredding or HCE, call (201) 434-3303 or (201) 432-5959..