POWAY — In July, Max Morpeth had a hard time looking anyone in the eye or carrying on a conversation with customers and employees at the newly opened coffee cart next to Players Sports Bar in Poway.
But two months into his five-day-a-week job as head brewer and cashier, the 22-year-old developmentally disabled man talks proudly, if haltingly, about the tasks he most enjoys and the friends he has made. Morpeth is one of six young adults with disabilities who staff the outdoor cart, which sits between the bar and the Poway office of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Launched this summer by Players Sports Bar owner Michael Pasulka and now run by the disabled services group The Arc of San Diego, it’s one of several local businesses providing job training and socialization skills to young adults who have aged out of the federal and state safety net programs. Pasulka, a past donor and volunteer for Arc, said he realizes the modest kiosk may never turn a profit, but the psychic pay he earns is more than worth the expense. Read more.
