“Bottom Dollars Movie Chapter 08” produced by Rooted in Rights [NARRATOR]: Bottom Dollars [mellow atmospheric music] [NARRATOR]: Chapter eight - "I've got the jersey to prove it." AUDIO DESCRIPTION: The Bob Boyte car dealership in Brandon, Mississippi. Minimum wage $7.25 per hour. TRUST: My name's Trust Jones. I'm from Brandon, Mississippi, and I'm 23 years old. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust walks through the dealership to a back office. TRUST: Every time, when I come back here, I always go for one thing. My check. I come here to get my check. Best one ever. BOSS: Hey, Trust. TRUST: Hi. BOSS: How are you doing, sir? TRUST: Pretty good, pretty good. BOSS: Very good. TRUST: Thank you. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust receives his paycheck from his boss and coworker. TRUST: Every time I come here, this is what I get. (BOSS): He gets paid! TRUST: Every single time. And I love it, I love it. [boss laughs] TRUST: Best job ever. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust proudly holds his check over his head. TRUST: My mom worked, my brother worked, my sisters worked, and I knew I had to put in work. My current job is with Bob Boyte Honda. Last check I got, was 324 bucks. The most money ever. Didn't spend it all. CHERYL: We know that there are people with disabilities going to work, but oftentimes we look at that as, "Oh, isn't that remarkable," or "Isn't that incredible." We need to start to recognize that people with disabilities have skills and talents, and we need to encourage those and support those. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust's Manager, Tiffany Boyte. TIFFANY: Trust has not only just gotten a job here, I think he's built a purpose within this dealership. He's given us something that we haven't had. We saw very quickly that he was really good with technology. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust sits in his cubicle, looking at a Facebook page on his computer. TRUST: My job was to oversee the Facebook and Twitter pages of Bob Boyte. And it was good. We got a lot of feedback, a lot of feedback from customers, a lot of likes. TIFFANY: It is not charity for us at all. I don't think the dealership would be the same without him. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Concord, New Hampshire. Minimum wage $7.25 per hour. AMY: My name is Amy Messer, I'm the Executive Director at the Disability Rights Center in New Hampshire. Oftentimes, people just simply don't understand that individuals with disabilities bring everything to the workplace that everybody without disabilities brings as well. They bring their skills and their talents, their dedication, their collegiality, and so I think people underestimate, actually, the value of employment for people with disabilities to the employer. [mellow atmospheric music] AUDIO DESCRIPTION: The Quality Cash Market, a local grocery store. Brendan Welch. BRENDAN: My name is Brendan, I am 30 years old, I grew up in Concord, yep. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Brendan clocks in. (BRENDAN): I do the floors, I do the soda cooler, the beer cooler, the dishes, and anything else they want me to do. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Brendan works quickly in different parts of the store. Brendan's manager, Liz Duncan. LIZ: Brendan has a really good approach with people. He takes a lot of pride into what he's doing, and so, when he wants to, and we try give him a little bit more responsibility, he does get really nervous, but we just kind of coach him along, and he really does take responsibility very well. He likes to joke around a lot, which, we all-- we're good with it, you know. BRENDAN: Sometimes people call me a pain in the butt because I can be a pain in the butt. It's all family, they treat me as a family member. AMY: If you talk to employers who have individuals with disabilities employed in their workplace, you're gonna hear a lot of really positive stories. LIZ: I've had several people who have had disabilities come in and ask for a job. And it's not as-- fill out an application. If I know that you're qualified, I'm gonna hire you. BRENDAN: I like the people, I like conversation, and I like to be friendly with everybody. TRUST: It's great, I interact with customers, I talk to the workers. I get paid. I love it. BRENDAN: Sometimes I take my mom out to lunch on Sunday, or I take her out to dinner. TRUST: My favorite team is the Pittsburg Steelers, and I've got the trunks, the jersey, the backpack, and the cap to prove it. AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Trust walks back to his desk. TRUST: The internet department. TIFFANY: I could not imagine those two in a sheltered workshop. You wouldn't go do a job that would pay you a dollar on the hour or something like that, because you're worth more. They're worth more. [slow electronic music] [NARRATOR]: Share the full film in your community. Host a screening. BottomDollarsMovie.com End of transcript.