Community Based Services and WIN Waste Innovations Create Jobs

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. — Community Based Services Inc. (CBS) is bringing job opportunities and workforce development to Peekskill workers with disabilities with a $20,000 donation from WIN Waste Innovations. CBS provides employment, day and community habilitation, individualized residential alternatives, and respite services for adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.

The donation from WIN Waste supports CBS’s job skills development program, which provides employment training and experience for individuals with disabilities. The program helps create opportunities for workers of all abilities, helps broaden the employment pool for employers, and often brings ancillary benefits to communities. For example, during a recent job training event, CBS participants removed litter and debris from the streets of Peekskill, helping foster community pride and a pleasant experience for tourists.

Participants in the Community Based Services job skills development program develop skills and experience that help them gain employment. L to R: Rosa Elmore, Danny Myrthil, CBS Job Developer Joseph Conti

WIN Waste Innovations provides waste and recycling collection, transfer, and disposal services to customers and communities in Westchester County and across the Northeast. The company’s waste-to-energy facility in Peekskill, N.Y., annually converts up to 630,000 tons of post-recycled waste into renewable energy that powers more than 30,000 area homes and businesses, offsetting the need for 610,000 barrels of oil. The facility also has a special investment partnership with White Plains Linens to use steam from the waste-to-energy facility instead of fossil fuels, further reducing greenhouse gases.

“WIN Waste has been a great supporter of our agency and the people and communities we serve,” says Joe Conti, job developer at Community Based Services. “They recognize the social and economic benefits of inclusion — it is something they practice in their own organization.”

“At WIN Waste, we know the importance of providing essential services and support to our communities, and we are very happy to champion the hardworking individuals who are gaining experience through Community Based Services’ programs," says Mary Urban, director of communications and community engagement at WIN Waste Innovations. “Being a good neighbor while helping show off Peekskill's beautiful people and places is a great privilege.”

CBS is dedicated to providing people with autism and other disabilities the best quality of life through residential and community-based opportunities. The agency has been enriching lives, providing jobs, and cultivating dreams for people with disabilities since 1981.