During Deseret Industries' 50 years, the participants have changed, but the purpose of the program - helping people help themselves - has remained the same.
Deseret Industries is celebrating its golden anniversary this month. It originated toward the end of the Depression in August 1938 in an "effort to provide opportunities for individuals to become self-sustaining," according to a letter signed by the First Presidency and Presiding Bishopric dated Aug. 11, 1938.The letter was read Aug. 14 in sacrament meetings throughout the Salt Lake Region. It called for contributions of "clothing, papers, magazines, articles of furniture, electrical fixtures, metal and glassware" from "each home owner in communities with the . . . region." It explained the project would be known as "Deseret Industries," and that the organization would make "periodic collections of these materials from homes . . . and employ men and women to sort, process, and repair the articles collected for sale and distribution among those who desire to obtain usable articles . . . at a minimum cost."
Continuing, the First Presidency and Presiding Bishopric explained, "It is the intent that first consideration on this project will be given to brethren and sisters who might find it difficult to qualify for employment in private industry."
That intent has never changed.
"Deseret Industries always has focused on people and the needs of people," explained Earl Matheson, director of Deseret Industries and Employment Services. "But those needs have varied over a 50-year period."
The initial Deseret Industries work force consisted primarily of the unemployed and elderly. "There were no other options for them at the time," Matheson noted. There were very few provisions for the elderly to retire. There were very few programs available for the unemployed, so this was an opportunity for them to work when they couldn't otherwise do so. It continued that way until World War II."
Conditions changed with the war. The defense industry put most everyone to work, and the thriving economy continued through the post-war years. There were more than a dozen Deseret Industries store in Utah's Salt Lake County and five in the Los Angeles, Calif., area before World War II. Most of those operations were consolidated.
"The vast number of unemployed declined," Matheson pointed out, "so the program underwent a bit of a change. We began to pay specific attention to the handicapped and elderly, and those who were unable to obtain traditional employment."
By 1948, there were six Deseret Industries stores, two in Salt Lake City, one each in Ogden, Logan Tooele, Utah, and one in Los Angeles.
Growth continued slowly but steadily into the 1950s. Stewart B. Eccles - who directed the first Deseret Industries store in downtown Salt Lake City in 1938 and then left to run Welfare Square from 1942 until 1952 - was reassigned to develop manufacturing operations.
Under Eccles, Deseret Industries started a rag-rug-making operation in 1957. The plants not only provided additional jobs, but also goods for bishops' storehouses.
"When Elder Harold B. Lee, who directed the Welfare Program, called me to start the manufacturing division in 1952, he told me I would be directed to know what to do," Eccles explained. "We acquired the rug factory in New Jersey, disassembled it and shipped it out here on rail cars. And we took over the woolen mill and operated that successfully.
"Working closely with the brethren was a very rich experience I will never forget."
Many elderly and handicapped found work at Deseret Industries, and those who were able were trained and moved into private industry.
As the program moved through the 1960s and into the 1970s, the emphasis on rehabilitation increased. Training people to enter the private work place became a forte of Deseret Industries.
"The program still focuses on those with disabilities and those who have other challenges and obstacles to overcome," Matheson said. "All of our people are not physically or emotionally disabled, but most do have things they are working on so they can become employable."
Gary Winters, Deseret Industries rehabilitation field manager, estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the people in the program are handicapped physically, mentally or emotionally. Most of the remainder are unemployable because of social problems, but are not handicapped according to the U.S. Department of Labor definition of the word.
Said Winters: "We're doing a better job of training now than we were 10 years ago. In 1980, we placed about 240 people into jobs with private companies. This year, it will be more than 700."
People needing training are typically referred to Deseret Industries by a priesthood leader. A program for each person is written with the individual's supervisors and rehabilitation workers. It incorporates personal and work-related goals and is closely followed. Local Church members are sometimes called by area presidencies as rehabilitation service workers to help train. They are set apart by stake presidents and usually serve for about two years.
"A plan is established to help a person gain some experience, some confidence, whatever it is they need, and get them into the work place," noted Matheson. "That's what we're trying to do, and we're experiencing a great deal of success.
A young lady was sent to Deseret Industries in the Portland, Ore., area as a non-handicapped referral. She exhibited negative behavior (manipulating others and extreme fantasizing) that rendered her unemployable in private industry.
She worked hard and received rehabilitation assistance under a personalized program, and progressed to the point where her supervisors felt she was ready for outside employment. After enrolling in a job-search class through the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, she went job hunting and found employment at a fast-food restaurant.
Continued follow-up has found her doing well.
"Most of our programs are work-adjustment types of things. People get the experience of entering the work place every day, being on time, learning to get along with co-workers and taking direction from supervisors - the kinds of things that would be expected on most any job. We do more of that than specific skill training. We're not set up to train people to be journeymen plumbers or electricians, for example, though they may get experience doing those types of things."
Winters emphasized that social training is critical in the minds of most employers: "People who have difficulties with employment generally do so because of social problems, not because they can't do the job. We focus on social skills. Dependability is the most important skill a person can have, according do employers."
In fact, a survey conducted by the Department of Labor showed that the top five factors in employability include, in addition to dependability: punctuality, pride in work, respect for authority and getting along with others.
If those characteristics are evident, specific job skills can be cultivated.
A young man had not been employed for three years and was referred to a Deseret Industries store in Glendale, Ariz. He continually requested leaves of absence and failed to attend to tasks while at work.
Over time, he learned to stick with his assigned jobs until completion. He even learned to enjoy his work and gained a desire to become more independent.
The young man had always been driven to work by someone else. He earned his driver's license and saved enough money for a used car. He attended a 12-week class in electronic wiring at a skill center while remaining at Deseret Industries. Upon graduation, he went to work fabricating car stereos.
Almost every week he drops into Deseret Industries to tell his former supervisor and co-workers how much he enjoys his new job.
Matheson explained: "Quite a number of people who come to us have not experienced many successes. One of the best things we can do for them is to bring them into an envrionment where they are working with people and begin to learn they have some abilities. They can do some things well. They have some small successes along the way that build their confidence. A sheltered workshop like Deseret Industries is a place where they can learn to cope and get along.
"Then people change. They blossom to a point where they come out of themselves, are able to look an employer in the eye and say, 'I can do that job.'"
"Once their self-esteem is up and they feel confident," continued Winters, "that can transfer fairly easily to a new environment. They can go into a job someplace else, be confident of their abilities and be successful."
To help make the transition from Deseret Industries to other employment as smooth as possible for people, and to properly represent the Church, Matheson said Deseret Industries keeps its facilities modern and attractive, giving employees experience with equipment they will find elsewhere.
"There's was quite an improvement in the phsical facilities and upgrading of equipment and stores through the mid-1970s and early '80s," he explained. "That occurred over a five-year period, and we have attempted to remain that way so our facilities compare favorably to any of their kind."
Despite 50 years of success, Matheson added that Deseret Industries is not a cure-all: "Not everyone who leaves the program is totally satisfied. Our intent is to help people, but some people have problems severe enough that we are not able to help. Overall, I think the program works quite well."
Besides improving its training, Deseret Industries also is bolstering its long-held goal of avoiding waste.
"We're not perfect yet, but we really try to use all of the donations," said Winters. "We are doing a better job using clothing than ever. Whatever can't be sold as clothes domestically is sent to Third-World Countries. And other items are used as rags, in paper products or for things such as composition shingles. We try to use as much as we can and discard as little as possible."
Deseret Industries outlets always have followed larger concentrations of Church members. It takes 12 to 15 stakes in close proximity to support a Deseret Industries program, according to Matheson. In areas where the membership base is insufficient, job rehabilitation assistance is becoming more prevalent.
"We're doing this through the Church employment centers, using community resources rather than establishing a Deseret Industries program," Matheson said. "It just isn't practical for Deseret Industries to go everywhere we have members. Since the goals of D.I. and Church Employment are so closely related, we are bringing those programs much closer together. Ultimately, we hope every member who needs special employment assistance will have it available."
Matheson said programs and activities to help people through the years and will continue to do so. But the founding principles will not.
As predicted in the August 1938 letter: "We see great promise for this project if stake and ward workers will cooperate fully in stimulating an interest . . . and do you utmost to give encouragement and enthusiastic support to this meritorious movement."
Deseret Industries continues to be an important part of the Church welfare system. It is helping more people than ever before develop job skills and self-sufficiency.