Here’s How Hudson Community Enterprises Helps Those With Disabilities

This Patch article is sponsored by Hudson Community Enterprises.

Hudson Community Enterprises (HCE) is a not-for-profit organization that has offered training and employment opportunities to persons with disabilities for over six decades. Their offices are located in Jersey City, but they offer services throughout New Jersey and the tri-state area.

Patch had a chance to talk with Joseph Brown, President of Hudson Community Enterprises about their work in the community.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Brown: Ever since college, I have always been involved in human services work. I started with the United Way in Jersey City, and then worked many years for not-for-profits in Manhattan, and now I am back in my home, Jersey City.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?

Brown: Employment for people with disabilities.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?

Brown: Like many other organizations, the most difficult experience we’ve overcome recently was the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the workplace. Unlike other business operations, the people who are employed within our businesses, such as janitors, security officers, document scanners and shredders and digital print professionals, did not have the option to work remotely from home. I am happy to say we weathered the pandemic very well, we are enjoying a successful 2022, and as always, we are hiring!

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Brown: Working at HCE is satisfying every day as I watch our employees learn and grow, and become productive members of New Jersey’s workforce. There is nothing more gratifying here than to see someone who thought they could not work and receive a paycheck because of a disability become a successful member of our team.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?

Brown: HCE’s vast array of services to assist persons with disabilities distinguishes us from other similar organizations. Not only do we provide training and vocational rehabilitation services, we also operate five social enterprise businesses that employ many of those that we train, including building management services, document scanning and shredding, digital printing and packaging/fulfillment.

It’s very important that we – as a community – recognize that persons with disabilities can bring incredible value and worth to a workplace when given the appropriate training and most importantly…the opportunity. That is our value proposition at HCE. We not only provide positions of employment to persons with disabilities, we also offer customized training to ensure they are prepared for their new job with ongoing coaching and specialized support after they’ve begun their work experience with us. And if working at HCE is not a fit, we offer job placement programs for those who have completed our training programs.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Brown: “Work hard, show up on time and stay late!”

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about? If so, what details can you share and what makes it so exciting?

Brown: HCE recently undertook an aggressive marketing campaign, involving the creation of a brand new website, an increase in social media content, and partnerships with business, educational and local government organizations to ensure we are bringing our message to those who might best utilize our business services. Our efforts have resulted in a significant uptick in our web traffic and inquiries regarding our services.

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community? If so, tell us about them.

Brown: We host and participate in job fairs several times a year. We’ll be happy to work with Patch to ensure we alert the community about our next event.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business? (site URL, Facebook, Twitter, contact information, etc.)

Brown: For those interested in learning more about our mission and the services we offer, we invite you to visit our website at www.hce.works. We also are very active on social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

In addition, we recently produced a video showcasing several members of the HCE team who shared their personal experiences and stories of success working at HCE. It can be viewed here.

Patch: Have more information you’d like to share?

Brown: In addition to the services we offer adults, HCE also offers two programs aimed at assisting students with disabilities.

Through HCE’s High School Transition Program, we work closely with students to emphasize appropriate behavior and work habits, basic work skills, functional workplace literacy and job retention abilities. The students partake in vocational exploration experiences hosted by community businesses. Through this training, our main goal is the development of transferable skills for our students, including effective communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management, among many others.

As part of their vocational instruction, students will be bussed to a local worksite, where they will undertake basic work tasks while supervised by HCE coaches. This immersion within a worksite is a vital step in the students’ adjustment to functioning in a real work environment.

Project SEARCH, is a unique program providing a one-year, business-led, unpaid internship opportunity for eligible students during their final year of high school. The program, which is conducted entirely at a host business site, combines instruction with immersion in the workplace, and prepares young adults with disabilities to make successful transitions from school to productive adult life in the workforce.

For more information on both of these transition programs, we urge readers to click here.