WBNG reported that after nearly seventy years a local non profit is shutting it's doors.
The Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled employs the able and disabled.
The Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled made the decision last year that it would have no choice but to close it's doors.
"What drove it was the fact that we lost a major customer which represented about sixty percent of our manufacturing business and we weren't able to replace it as quickly as we needed to and although we tried we just couldn't," says CFO and General Manager, Louis Harasymczuk.
The non profit provides employment opportunities and services to the disabled.
About 90 people are employed in jobs from manufacturing cable assemblies, packaging, and kitting.
"At the height of our organization we had close to four hundred employees so like I said earlier we put a lot of food on a lot of tables over the years so we had a very large payroll that's basically going to go away," says Harasymczuk.
The non profit is set to close in September, but company officials are working hard to make sure employees have somewhere else to go.
"We will do everything we can to ensure that the disabled consumers and clients continue to receive services in the community. We are working with the State, New York State agencies to ensure that happening," says Harasymczuk.
That includes its services to disabled individuals who work at others businesses in the community.
SWS provided job coaching and support.
"You see the smile on the faces of people that they're so happy to be in a work environment," says Harasymczuk.
Some disabled employees have already secured other jobs and SWS is committed to making sure all those it serves are not left behind.
A sister company of the non profit, Able Industries, which also employs disabled individuals will also be closed.
The Sheltered Workshop sold its remaining manufacturing contracts to VMR Electronics.
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