Work Skills Corporation: Changing Lives for 53 Years
For more than 53 years, Brighton-based Work Skills Corporation, led by Oak Pointe neighbor and CEO Tina Jackson, has empowered individuals of all abilities to learn, work, live independently, and thrive through personalized support and a community that believes in their potential.
Gracie Tracey, Sublimation Specialist, pictured with Michelle Acevado pictured on the right.
If you've driven along Rickett Road in Brighton, you've probably noticed the WSC Plant 2 building. Turn onto Summit Street, and you'll find Work Skills Corporation's headquarters just around the corner. Thousands of people pass those buildings every day, often unaware of the remarkable work happening inside.
For more than 53 years, WSC has quietly helped children and adults throughout Southeast Michigan discover their strengths, build new skills, find meaningful employment, create award-winning art, live more independently, and experience the dignity of belonging. While many know the organization by name, few realize the depth and breadth of its impact on the community.
Founded in 1973 by a group of parents determined to create meaningful opportunities for their children with disabilities after graduation, WSC has grown into a community-based nonprofit serving individuals of all ages and abilities. Although its programs have expanded over the decades, its purpose has remained remarkably consistent: helping people discover their potential and build lives filled with opportunity, independence, and connection.
Today, that mission comes to life through three interconnected pillars—Learning, Working, and Living. While each represents a distinct area of service, they often overlap because the people WSC serves are never defined by a single goal or need. Progress in one area frequently opens doors in another, creating opportunities that extend far beyond a classroom, workplace, or home.
For Tina Jackson, President and CEO of WSC—and an Oak Pointe resident—that mission is both professional and deeply personal.
"We are not a one-size-fits-all organization," Tina says. "Every person we serve has a plan built around their strengths, their goals, and their life."
That philosophy shapes every program WSC provides. Whether someone is learning to communicate more confidently, preparing for meaningful employment, expressing themselves through art, or building the skills needed to live more independently, the focus is always the same: helping each individual move forward with dignity, purpose, and possibility.
Learning: Building Skills, Confidence, and Connection
At Work Skills Corporation, learning is about far more than acquiring new skills. It is about discovering abilities, building confidence, and creating opportunities that help people participate more fully in their families, workplaces, and communities. Whether someone is learning to communicate more effectively, navigate everyday life with greater independence, or uncover a creative talent they never knew they possessed, every step forward begins with someone believing in their potential.
One of the most inspiring expressions of WSC's mission is its creative arts program, where artists are encouraged to explore their talents, develop new skills, and express themselves in ways that foster confidence, independence, and self-worth.
That growth is evident in the remarkable work produced through the Artisan Corner. WSC artists Liz, Austin, and Roy recently earned recognition at ArtPrize for their collaborative pointillism piece, Einstein, while another WSC artwork, Imagine, captured the Grand Prize at the Hartland Art Walk.
"Their work stood alongside professional artists from around the world, and it belonged there," says Michelle Acevedo, Creative Arts Services Supervisor.
For many artists, the studio becomes much more than a place to create. It becomes a place where they discover their own voice, experience the pride of accomplishment, and realize they have something meaningful to share with the world.
Learning at WSC also extends into Clinical Services, which provide Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Mental Health therapy for children and adults. Services are available in the clinic, at home, virtually, or through a hybrid model, allowing support to be tailored to each individual's unique goals and circumstances.
Whether someone is strengthening communication, improving daily living skills, managing sensory challenges, or developing emotional resilience, WSC's interdisciplinary team works collaboratively so progress in one area supports growth in another. Recognizing the growing need for emotional and behavioral support, WSC expanded its Mental Health Services in 2025, reinforcing its commitment to caring for the whole person, not just one aspect of their life.
Learning looks different for every individual who walks through WSC's doors. For one person, it may be speaking their first clear sentence. For another, it may be creating a painting that hangs in an award-winning exhibition. For someone else, it may simply be believing in themselves for the first time.
Whatever the milestone, those moments become the foundation for everything that follows—meaningful work, greater independence, stronger relationships, and a life filled with new possibilities.
Working: Employment with Purpose
Employment is where Work Skills Corporation's story began more than 53 years ago, and helping people discover meaningful work remains at the heart of its mission.
Finding the right job is about far more than filling an open position. It is about helping each individual recognize their strengths, develop confidence, and discover a place where they can contribute and grow.
WSC Employment Services walks alongside job seekers throughout every stage of that journey. Employment Specialists help individuals explore career interests, build résumés, prepare for interviews, connect with employers, and navigate the transition into the workplace. Once someone is hired, the support continues through ongoing coaching and encouragement, helping both employees and employers build lasting success.
Not every employment journey follows the same path. For some individuals, confidence grows through experience before they enter the workforce. WSC's Production Services provides paid, hands-on vocational training through assembly, packaging, and kitting projects, allowing participants to develop workplace habits, strengthen teamwork, build stamina, and gain valuable real-world experience in a supportive environment.
That same spirit of partnership extends into the business community. WSC works closely with employers throughout Southeast Michigan, helping businesses identify dependable talent while creating opportunities for individuals who are ready to succeed. The result is a partnership that strengthens careers, businesses, and the community alike.
Austin's story reflects what can happen when the right support meets the right opportunity.
After being referred through Michigan Rehabilitation Services, Austin worked closely with his Employment Specialist to prepare for interviews, build a résumé, and develop the confidence needed to pursue meaningful employment. That preparation led to a year-round position as a cashier, where he now consistently works between 31 and 39 hours each week and has earned a reputation as a dependable, valued employee.
But Austin's accomplishments extend far beyond the workplace. He is also a high school honors graduate, an award-winning artist whose work has been recognized through WSC's Creative Arts program, and is currently training for the 2026 Special Olympics in powerlifting.
His story is a reminder that meaningful employment is never just about a job. It creates confidence. It opens doors. It builds independence. And sometimes, all it takes is one person believing in someone's potential before they begin believing in it themselves.
Living: Home, Independence, and Belonging
Meaningful work and personal growth are important milestones, but they are only part of the journey. For many of the individuals WSC serves, true independence begins with having a place to call home and a community where they feel safe, valued, and connected.
WSC Residential Services provides group homes and supported apartment living for individuals with disabilities, creating environments where residents can build confidence, strengthen relationships, and live with as much independence as possible.
In 2025, WSC supported 32 individuals through its residential programs. Every resident has unique routines, goals, and aspirations, and support is thoughtfully tailored to meet each person's needs while encouraging greater independence and community involvement.
The goal isn't simply to provide housing. It's to create homes where people can continue growing, making choices, celebrating milestones, and building meaningful lives.
Innovation also plays an important role in helping residents live more independently.
Interactive wall displays and voice-enabled smart home technology help residents manage appointments, organize grocery lists, plan daily activities, and participate more actively in the routines of everyday life.
"Technology should serve people," says Chief Operating Officer Anita Jones. "When it does that well, it gives someone a sense of control over their own day, their own home, and their own life. That matters."
These tools aren't about convenience, they're about empowering people to make more decisions for themselves and participate more fully in their own lives.
Behind every therapy session, every employment success, every work of art, and every home is something else that often goes unseen: a community that believes these opportunities matter.
That is where the Work Skills Foundation plays an essential role.
Through the generosity of donors, volunteers, businesses, and community partners, the Foundation helps expand opportunities that often reach beyond traditional program funding. From adaptive technology and creative arts resources to scholarships and residential improvements, philanthropy allows WSC to dream bigger and provide experiences that enrich everyday life.
It is a reminder that changing lives is never the work of one organization alone. It happens because an entire community chooses to invest in the potential of others.
One of the Foundation's newest initiatives brings that spirit of community to life.
The Rumpus Room, currently being created at WSC's Howell residential home, is designed as a welcoming gathering space where residents can relax after work, celebrate birthdays, exercise, play games, watch movies, and simply enjoy spending time together.
To help bring that vision to life, the Foundation has launched a community wish list featuring furniture, fitness equipment, televisions, gaming systems, and other items that will transform an ordinary room into a place filled with laughter, friendships, and shared memories.
Sometimes making a difference isn't about changing someone's entire life overnight.
Sometimes it's as simple as helping create a room where people feel at home, know they belong, and are reminded every day that their community believes in them.
The People Behind the Mission
Programs don't change lives, people do.
Behind every therapy session, employment success, residential milestone, and work of art is a team of individuals who believe deeply in the potential of every person they serve. Some spend months helping someone prepare for a first interview. Others celebrate the quiet victories many people never see: a new skill mastered, a first paycheck earned, a conversation spoken with confidence, or the pride of seeing artwork displayed for the public to enjoy.
That same commitment extends across every corner of WSC. Therapists help individuals build skills that foster greater independence. Residential staff create homes where people feel safe, valued, and connected. Employment Specialists continue supporting job seekers long after they've been hired. Creative Arts staff encourage artists to keep exploring their talents, while Production Services staff help individuals develop the confidence that comes from meaningful work.
Supporting that mission from another angle is the Work Skills Foundation, led by its new Director, Kelly Borg.
Kelly brings a passion for community connection and a deep belief in the power of philanthropy to expand opportunities for the people WSC serves. Under her leadership, the Foundation is growing initiatives like Women of Work Skills (WoW), strengthening relationships with donors and volunteers, and creating new ways for the community to become part of WSC's story.
For Kelly, the goal is simple: invite more people to discover what's happening inside WSC, and show them how they can make a lasting difference.
How You Can Make a Difference
Every success story at WSC is made possible by people who choose to get involved.
Some support local artists by shopping at the Artisan Corner Boutique, where every handcrafted purchase directly benefits the artist who created it. Others sponsor an artist, helping provide studio materials and creative opportunities throughout the year.
Many community members choose to tour WSC's programs, volunteer alongside staff, or contribute to projects like the Rumpus Room, helping transform a residential gathering space into a place where friendships, celebrations, and everyday moments can flourish.
Others become part of Women of Work Skills (WoW), joining a growing network of women who invest their time, resources, and leadership to strengthen WSC's mission for generations to come.
Whether the contribution is large or small, every act of generosity creates new opportunities for someone to learn, work, live more independently, and belong.
For more information about touring WSC, volunteering, supporting the Foundation, or getting involved, visit www.wskillsfoundation.org or contact Foundation Director Kelly Borg at 810-923-2722.
After nearly 40 years with WSC, Employment Services Supervisor Howard Binstock has perhaps said it best:
"In this complicated world, it still comes down to human beings supporting human beings."
For more than 53 years, that simple belief has been changing lives throughout Southeast Michigan—and it continues because a community chooses to believe in one another.