Longtime CSS client Ed Trimble has been receiving services from the agency since he was 18 years old. He has been through Supported Employment several times in the past decade.

The year 2020 may have been lousy for many people, but for Ed, it was a year that he has celebrated great success. For the first time in more than a decade, Ed has been able to string together consistent work.

Through his hard work and perseverance, and with the tireless efforts from his Supported Employment specialist, Charles Millward, Ed has been working as a dishwasher at Denny's. He glows with pride when he discusses his work.

"It helps me feel good about myself. It challenges me to deal with stress in different ways," he says. "It gives me responsibilities and I'm willing to accept those responsibilities."

Ed says that he finds the work rewarding, but his favorite part of the day is interacting and socializing with his co-workers.

In addition to the help he has received from the Supported Employment department, Ed gives credit to his other services at CSS, adding that CET coaches AJ Brown and Krystal Kubeck have been instrumental in his success. He says they "help me apply the skills I have learned and help hold me accountable."

As for Ed's future? "I want to keep the job on a long-term basis and not go backwards to where I used to be."