At 29 years old, Suzanne Sukalski has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments. Sukalski has Down syndrome, but she is quick to point out that it doesn’t define her.
NOVEMBER 8, 2015 12:00AM
NUMBING WORK
Scott Rhude picked up trash near a landfill in Willmar, Minn. He makes $2 an hour and dreams of a better job.
WILLMAR, MINN.
In a field on the outskirts of town, a man with Down syndrome is spending another day picking up garbage.
He wears faded pants, heavy gloves, a bright yellow vest and a name tag that says “Scott Rhude.”
His job is futile. Prairie winds blow debris from a landfill nearby faster than he and his co-workers can collect it. In the gray sky overhead, a turkey vulture circles in wide loops.
Rhude, 33, earns $2 an hour. He longs for more rewarding work maybe at Best Buy, he says, or a library. But that would require personalized training, a job counselor and other services that aren’t available.