10
feature
october 28, 2015
More than just a resale store, Thrift Unlimited provides road to stability for workers by norell sherman
Jim Becker was 17 when he was first prescribed Thorazine, a medication for his paranoid schizophrenia. “I went to pick it up at the drugstore, but I was scared to take the meds,” Becker said. “At that point in time, I wanted to stop using substances because I was addicted to drugs and alcohol, so I got in my parent’s car and drove away.” In the years following his diagnosis, Becker was in and out of hospitals. Psychiatrists believed he was unfit to live on his own, until Becker was discharged from the hospital in 1989. Two years later, at age 33, he applied for a job at Thrift Unlimited—an action that would change his life. Vintage clothing spills from the shelves, funky ties hang from rotating racks, and old radio sets cover the floor. This hand-medown heaven, Thrift Unlimited, has helped Becker navigate his recovery and find his place in his work and his personal life. Formerly known as Upscale Resale, Thrift Unlimited is a community thrift store and nonprofit organization in Rockville that employs people who struggle with mental illness. Since 1991, this shop has been run by Jobs Unlimited Inc., a nonprofit directed by Whitman parent Meredith Bowers. The organization strives to create a safe working environment for people whose mental disorders would make it difficult to find employment in the traditional job market.
“Every dollar you spend at Thrift Unlimited is going straight to paying for somebody to work, to live independently, and to stay healthy,” Bowers said in an interview last month. In the 21 years Becker has been at the store, his life has changed dramatically. “I’ve watched this place grow, and I’ve grown while it has expanded,” he said. Since beginning work, Becker has stopped drinking alcohol and using marijuana, realizing that earlier in his life he was a teenage alcoholic. One reason behind Becker’s transformation is the nurturing work environment of the store. The staff refers to each other as family and even has Sunday dinners together. A positive work atmosphere is conducive to recovery from mental illness, psychotherapist Rachel Dack said. “A lot of the employees at Thrift Unlimited have worked in other places and felt very ostracized,” Bowers said. “Now they’re working in a place where people can understand each other.” Becker’s life and social skills have improved because he has to collaborate with coworkers, managers and customers. “This store has taught me how to get along with people,” Becker said. “The skills I use in the shop, I use wherever I am. It’s helped with all my relationships.” These skills have helped Becker foster his relationship with his fiancée. The engaged couple
Ever Wondered...
What these tiles are?
by rose pagano
Walt Whitman is a poet and we all know it. But what many of us don’t know is that our school has a hidden tribute to his poetry. Thetan engravings of a plant that surround the top of the wall of the school are meant to represent Whitman’s most well-known collection of work, Leaves of Grass. Former principal Jerome Marco added this decoration to the school during the massive 1992 construction. “He’s our most famous American poet and one of his most famous works, of course, is Leaves of Grass,” principal Alan Goodwin said. “To have that reflected in our architecture is a pretty important reflection of his work.” This representation of Whitman’s poems has a deeper meaning for Goodwin, who feels personally connected to Leaves of Grass. “He found a lot of comfort in nature, as do I,” Goodwin said. “I find nature to be rejuvenating and good for the spirit.” Goodwin has found ways to pay homage to the poet. He oversaw the planting of birch trees in front of the building to bring nature, one of Whitman’s common themes, to school grounds. In previous years, a display case in the main entrance gave information on Whitman and his work. Some teachers feel the best way to honor Whitman is by reading his poetry in class. “I think it’s nice, but I think it’s even nicer if we actually read Whitman and studied Whitman the poet, and we do that in AP Literature,” Lit teacher Prudence Crewdson said. But if students don’t have time for the course load of AP Lit, they can always spend some time admiring the tiles.
is look forward to their wedding next September. “I think his relationship with his fiancée has shown a whole new level of personal maturity and independence that I hadn’t seen when he first started,” Bowers said. Maintaining this independence and maturity wasn’t always easy. Becker lives in halfway housing provided by Montgomery Station Family Services. When he began his time in halfway housing, Becker required the highest level of support, but his improved social skills have demonstrated his ability to live independently. He now requires the lowest level of support and lives with roommates. Because of two relapses, Becker did need intense support during three years of his time at the store. He credits his recovery to a supportive body of co-workers. “My executive director came and visited me in the hospital, and gave me my job back when I was ready to come back to work,” he said. “A crucial part of the recovery in my relapse was coming back into the Thrift Unlimited environment.” The business has also helped Becker with his recovery by giving him another shot at an education. Becker tried to attend college after high school, but was discouraged and quickly withdrew from both the University of Maryland and Montgomery College. Now, the Montgomery College Foundation has helped Becker return back to school. The
Jim Becker, diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 17, has worked at Thrift Unlimited for 21 years. Becker has earned a degree in accounting and is working toward a second degree at Montgomery College. Photo by NORELL SHERMAN
organization works with Thrift Unlimited and pays for tuition in any class that will help advance students’ vocational goals. “The Montgomery College Foundation has paid 50 percent of tuition for employees to go to Montgomery College in past years,” Bowers said. “Starting last year, we approached them about paying for 100 percent of the scholarships because expenses of our organization are going up and our sales are not going up in the same way.” Becker has earned a degree in accounting and is scheduled to graduate this spring with an Applied Science Associate’s Degree. His certification has allowed him to complete more advanced tasks throughout the day, he said. When Bowers began working at the store, Becker was doing pretty simple bookkeeping, she
said, but now he’s responsible for putting employee salaries on the SunTrust website and doing payroll. These upgraded responsibilities have given Becker a newfound confidence, lessening the stigma he used to feel towards his mental illness. “Before coming to Thrift Unlimited, I couldn’t hold a job for more than nine months,” Becker said. “I’m able to cook and do my chores for myself, and am scheduled to graduate from Montgomery College, which is something I never thought I would accomplish. This organization was made for me.” Thrift Unlimited is located at 15130 Frederick Rd Rockville, MD 20850. It’s open Mon-Thurs from 10-6, Fri-Sat from 10-7, and Sun from 12-5. Phone: 301-738-7723
Robo girls take first in Girl Power tourney by emily schweitzer
While the 41:12 boy-to-girl ratio in the robotics club may seem extreme, this year has seen the largest number of girls in recent memory. The girls in the club decided to participate in an off-season, all-girls competition for the first time this year on Oct. 10. This tournament, known as Girl Power, was started six years ago to encourage girls to get involved in engineering. This year, juniors Grace Montagnino, Michaela Salmon and Natalie Cohn won first place overall. “It was crazy because the other team we were up against was really strong, and I wasn’t sure if our strategy was going to be enough to beat them,” Montagnino said. “When they announced it we all were cheering and hugging and high-fiving.” The girls make up a small portion of the club right now. J.J. Biel-Goebel, one of the club’s men- Clockwise starting from back left: parent Farish Perlman and tors, said that the gender imbalance in the Robotics club members Grace Montagnino, Michaela Salmon, and Natalie Cohn. This year, there are 12 girls in the club—a large Club is typical in STEM fields. increase from years previous. Photo courtesy GRACE MON“The boy to girl ratio in the last two years mir- TAGNINO rors that of the male dominated tech industry as a whole,” Biel-Goebel said. “This gender imbalance ger,” Biel-Goebel said. acts as a disincentive for some young women to join The club hopes it will be 25 percent female by next the team.” year. Several new female members joined this past year. Although Girl Power is limited to only girls, the Cohn participates in the club to get more experience scoring system remains the same as coed tournaments. in STEM fields. Each school team is placed with two other school “I want to be an engineer and it seems like a good teams to form one large team, known as an alliance. way to get more hands on experience, whether it’s the Alliances can change up until elimination rounds, more mechanical engineering side or electrical engineerwhen “final alliances” composed of the best teams are ing side.” Cohn said. made for the remainder of the tournament. Eight judgSome girls might feel timid at first walking into any es serve as “referees” who keep score of each team’s room of mostly boys, but it’s not as intimidating as one points, and they critique robots on their durability and may think, Montagnino said. effectiveness. “Winning Girl Power will help, but is only one step “Teams can win awards, which are mostly based on on a long road towards changing how young women the atmosphere of the team and their members,” junior view the team, view robotics, and view STEM,” BielAnnie Waye said. “We won awards last year for good Goebel said. “It will take many moments like the one quality in our robot and also for a good design.” we helped create to make the young women from Walt Girls add something unique to the creative process Whitman see Robotics as cool, fun and a possible colthat goes into building these robots, Biel-Goebel said. lege major.” “They will make the team more successful because they make the team more creative and because the team needs young women to join it to make it stron-