People with disabilities support NASA’s space mission
Synopsis
Nearly 100 people with disabilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, employed by the Brevard Achievement Center through SourceAmerica, provide custodial services to maintain the facility, including an amplified effort during VIP visits and launches.
The Full Story
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, nearly 100 people with disabilities are a part of the team that supports the agency’s space mission.
SourceAmerica® network nonprofit agency’s Brevard Achievement Center employs the talented team that provides custodial services at Kennedy Space Center. Their objective is to keep the facility in pristine condition year-round, with an amplified effort when VIP guests visit the center prior to and during a launch.
“People with disabilities are providing essential services across the nation at highly visible locations like NASA’s Kennedy Space Center every day,” said SourceAmerica Interim President and CEO Richard Belden. “It takes a massive effort from every facet of the operation to see that rocket head into space, and people with disabilities provide a critical service to help make that happen.”
SourceAmerica connects government and corporate customers to a critical resource—a network of nonprofit agencies that hire people with disabilities. Job opportunities like the ones at the Kennedy Space Center are provided through the AbilityOne® Program—one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have disabilities.
“Knowing that people with disabilities are a part of such big public events like NASA’s and launching rockets from the Space Coast at Kennedy Space Center really makes me feel proud of what the AbilityOne Program is,” said Brevard Achievement Center President and CEO Amar Patel.
In April 2021, people with disabilities were in the spotlight as the Kennedy Space Center prepared for just its second manned space mission in the last decade. Several high-ranking officials attended the SpaceX pre-dawn launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station. AbilityOne employee Keith Washington was part of that team.
“AbilityOne gives us the opportunity to work at one of the most famous places in the world, NASA,” said Washington. “Without them making it possible, there wouldn’t be people like me able to come out here and have a job at such a prestigious place.”
