Despite Challenges, Holding Down a Job at McDonald’s<br />I can read, say, a text message from Ashley Smallwood, my Bridgewell job coach,<br />that says, “See you at 4.” Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t, so Ashley has to remind me to think before I speak.<br />My last job was cleaning the stadium of the North Shore Navigators, a collegiate baseball team that’s part of a New England league.<br />About seven years ago, a state agency that was helping me recommended an employment program at Bridgewell, a place<br />that helps people who have disabilities and other challenges.<br />I’m learning to use the deep fryer, so sometimes I make the French fries.<br />A. I clean the dining room and refill the ice and condiments and help customers.<br />Peter Barrett, 47, is a crew member at a McDonald’s in Lynn, Mass.
