A Man of Many Talents
“A lady asked the police if they could watch her bird for her. The police said, ‘I think we will stick to jail birds.’” That is only one, of over 150 creatively, funny jokes, Trey has made up. Not only does Trey love writing jokes, being challenged, doing impressions, and organizing things, he has been supported through Reach’s Employment Services over the past two years.
2022 was a big year for Trey! Early in the year, he moved out of a group home into his own studio apartment that he found on his own. Using apartments.com, Trey said that he looked around until he found one that was in his price range. After taking a tour of the place, Trey knew it was going to be the perfect apartment for living on his own. He says the best part of living on his own is, “I get to do whatever I want. No limitations and I’m totally free. I can buy the food that I want too.” Over the past 9 months, Trey has been thriving living on his own.
In addition to a new apartment, Trey got his first full time job. Since 2017, Trey has been volunteering at the local nonprofit Free Geek Twin Cities. Free Geek’s mission is to make affordable technology available to their local communities and accepts electronic donations of all kinds. Trey is responsible for organizing and sorting the cord room, which has earned him the volunteer title, Organizational Associate. As Trey says, “One of my favorite hobbies is organizing and sorting things.” This past spring Trey started working with Roy in Reach’s Employment Services. Roy knew he needed to find Trey a job where he could put his hobbies to use. While at Goodwill St. Louis Park, Roy name dropped Trey to the manager. The manager called Trey for an interview. Trey said, “Everything with the interview was positive. I told him a lot about me and that I like keeping busy. And I’m very good at organizing and sorting.” Within a day, Trey was hired part time as a Donation Processor. Less than a year later, Trey was offered a full time position with a pay increase. Trey loves his job especially talking to the customers and working with his awesome co-workers!
With a new apartment and job, there comes the added responsibility of budgeting and paying bills. As Trey says, “How to get your money to last each month comes with these responsibilities. I’ve been doing good on paying bills, paying stuff and at the end of the month spending my left over money on stuff I want.” Trey has been doing great working on budgeting and paying his bills. Currently, he said he’s working on impulse control and not spending his money on unnecessary stuff.
What’s Trey looking forward to in 2023? Trey is looking to move from his studio apartment to a 1-bedroom place in his apartment complex. In addition, he is hoping to finish his GED in the spring and then look into college courses. He wants to pursue a degree in software and hardware engineering. Trey is also thinking about getting a possible second job at a technology-based company like Best Buy. For personal growth, Trey says he’s working on not getting distracted at work and getting better at multitasking. He’s also working on letting stuff go especially with things he can’t control. For long-term goals, Trey says he wants to become an inventor, own his own business, write a joke book and be able to support himself without Social Security. Trey is well on his way to achieving all his goals and we have no doubt he will succeed in all his life’s pursuits. He has a very bright future and Reach is happy to be just a stepping stone for his long-term success. Good luck Trey!