Federal Cuts Force AR Lighthouse for the Blind to Lay Off Workers

Carl Corbitt's afternoon is spent behind a vacuum.

"I get bored around here," he said. "It gives me something to do."

While he wouldn't call cleaning his calling, he is accustomed to working around the noise of machines.

Three weeks ago he worked at Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, sewing bandoliers for battle troops.

"There wasn't enough work to carry everybody there," he said.

The Lighthouse relies on contracts with the federal government to produce t-shirts for the armed forces, bandoliers, belts, and paper products.

Blind employees who stick, sew, and stack are happy to have a job.

"They give us opportunity to blind people," said Rodrigo Valles. "I've applied to other jobs, and the only thing they see is that I'm blind."

But in February, workforce reductions were necessary. Funding cuts have reduced orders, and the nonprofit's contract with the Army for tee shirts expired and hasn't been renewed as of yet.

"That is really difficult for us," said CEO Bill Johnson. "But when 95 percent of your business comes from federal contracts and the government is having spending issues like it is, that's all we can do."

Roughly 30 people were laid off from the nonprofit, of those, more than a dozen were blind or visually impaired.

"We are the main employer of individuals who are blind and visually impaired in the state of Arkansas," Johnson said. "We encourage others in the community to hire people who are blind, but we're the main employer."

"The job opportunities for the blind just aren't there," Corbitt agreed. "Most people see it as a safety issue, saying it's a liability to have us do most jobs."

The Lighthouse hopes to have it's Army contract renewed, expecting final details in late March.

"We still don't have a definitive idea of what the numbers will be," Johnson said. "But it may be that the numbers will be less. That's the indication we're getting."

The overall outlook with the sequester is hard to quantify, but Johnson said it will likely mean they will not be able to hire everyone back to the group.

"We're not receiving any good news. We always try to hire back those who have been laid off once contracts are back up," he said. "But all of the orders are less. And it's affecting everyone who gets the Ability I contracts like we do. You hate to say misery loves company, but it's impacting everyone in the U.S. who operates like we do."

Carl tries to roll with the punches. Genetics took his sight, but he's more upset that the government seems to be taking away what he had to look forward to in the future.

"Congress just doesn't care how their decisions impact the small people," he said. "They want to talk about creating jobs. I am the example of a job being taken away."

Arkansas Lighthouse is a nonprofit, so aside from its contracts with the government it largely relies on donations.

"People think that because we're a nonprofit there is some great benefactor who's making large donations," Johnson said. "But we would struggle without these federal contracts."

The factory is diversifying, expanding into private sector services with its call center for insurance companies, college surveys, and other over the phone services.

While its fundraising events are limited, an upcoming Golf Tournament gives the community a chance to take a swing for the state's largest blind community employer.

If you're a golfer who wants to participate  in "On the Links for the Lighthouse," you can register a team or participate individually. The information for the tournament is below: