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Special to the Colorado Sun
Brendan Balmes has an internship at Crabtree Brewing Company through the University of Northern Colorado s Go On And Learn (GOAL) program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Two of his main responsibilities were filtering beer and running the keg washing machine. Balmes will soon graduate and hopes to find a job at a brewery.
On a recent Friday afternoon in Greeley, Brendan Balmes stops by Crabtree Brewing Company for a beer and to say hello to his boss, Jeff Crabtree. The 28-year-old works here as an intern, but the pandemic has put things on hold for now.
Kirk Williams in Baka, Mexico, in 2019.
Courtesy of Kirk Williams
It would be a year before he was able to get dressed on his own and almost twice as long before he could shower and use the bathroom by himself. When you have something like that taken from you, it really humbles you down to the bare fundamentals of what makes you happy in life, Williams, 33, told Insider. For me, that was being able to be independent. To get out of bed when I wanted to in the morning, to make food when I was hungry and not have to ask for help, and to do the things I love.