Skils’kin sees ability in disability

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Skip Back thought he would never be on an Air Force base again.

After spending five years in the Air Force, Back fell on hard times. He started drinking heavily and went into a program for alcoholics through the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Fourteen months later, he has come full circle.

Back’s slight stutter slowed his words as he stood among the piles of leaves, scrap wood, tree limbs and mulch on F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne recently.

“(This job) is a new chance to contribute in life,” he said. “It feels good to be back on a base.”

Back works for Skils’kin, a Spokane-based nonprofit agency that helps people with varied disabilities and disadvantages find work.

Since March, Skils’kin has had a contract with F.E. Warren for groundskeeping. The agency hires people through a number of programs, including the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Skils’kin has a similar contract with Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane.

Currently, more than 70 percent of Skils’kin’s direct labor employees have some type of disability.

Ed Mattia, project manager for Skils’kin in Wyoming, said the agency tries to create an environment where people can thrive.

“A lot of the ones we picked up here could not find a job,” he said. “We make the accommodations so they can succeed.”

Mattia said it was a good opportunity for disabled veterans.

“It’s something to show we appreciate what they have done and sacrificed,” he said.

Andy Ruben, public affairs officer for the Cheyenne VA Medical Center, said the jobs at Skils’kin give disabled or disadvantaged veterans stability as well as good pay. Jobs at Skils’kin start at $9.75 per hour.

“My take on the whole thing is that this type of service is critical for disabled veterans because it provides critical stability in their lives,” he said.

But not all employees who work for Skils’kin are veterans.

Joe “Little Bear” Garcia lost his leg in a railroad accident in 1982. Since then he’s tried many different jobs, from washing dishes to shining shoes.

Garcia said he has been refused work because of his disability, although no one ever told him directly that was the reason.

Then he interviewed to work for Skils’kin.

“I told them they won’t be sorry if they hire me,” he said.

Garcia got a job mowing grass with a lawnmower that was controlled with his hands rather than his feet.

He said the agency looked at his abilities rather than his disabilities.

“I’m not a handicap,” Garcia said. “I don’t believe in coming here and asking for a handout. I want to work.”