James Mathis 

Cochran, Georgia (Senate District 20)

Every workday, James Mathis rides about forty-five minutes north from Cochran, Georgia to Macon to get to work. He is part of the grounds and maintenance crew for The Arc Macon. James is a 56-year-old man with an intellectual disability. Though he’s a bit shy when you first meet him (ok, a lot shy),James loves his work and comes alive around his coworkers, especially fellow staff member, Ashley “AJ” Jordan.

 (Story continues below after slideshow.) 

Born and raised in Cochran, James had to drop out of school in the ninth grade because his mother was sick. As an only child, his mother’s care fell to him. James’s mother was having debilitating seizures and couldn’t be left alone. He took care of her for about fifteen years until she passed away when he was in his twenties. After she was gone, James, without ahigh school diploma or many family members to rely on, felt lost in figuring out how to support himself.

Eventually, after spending a few decades with another agency that he didn’t like as much, James found his way to The Arc. At the time, the organization had a satellite office in Cochran. Unfortunately, in 2020, COVID led the organization to close down their satellite office and consolidate all services to Macon. James considered whether he might want to move to Macon since many of his services were now centered there, but Cochran has always been his home. All of his friends are there, and he wanted to stay where he is.

As is true for most people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, there’s an incredible, invisible, sometimes fragile web of supports that make his life possible. A team of staff members at The Arc Macon help to keep those services (and the mind-numbing amount of paperwork involved) going for James, especially since he doesn’t have any family to manage it for him. James lives in an apartment complex with support from a subsidy through HUD, an income-based housing program. One of the staff members James works with most closely is Eileen Harris (no relation), Director of Bleckley County Services at The Arc. Ms. Harris has been working with James since he transitioned to The Arc’s services in 2010. Through his Medicaid waiver-provided services of Community Access-Group (to the movies, yoga, to park, museums) and Community Access-Individual (one-on-one shopping for his life at places like the grocery store or Walmart). One of the things Eileen delights in talking about when it comes to talking about James is how much autonomy he has over planning his life. “James is an outdoors guy,” she laughs. “If he wants to go to the Ocmulgee National Park, we’re going. If he wants a beer, he’s getting one. You have to let a person make their choices.” 

According to Debi Sharpe, Billing Compliance Specialist at The Arc, up until now, James was working through a program called Community-Based Prevocational Training (sometimes referred to as “Pre-voc” for short). Now he’s been hired through Supported Employment, which means James can be paid minimum wage for his work (up to a certain number of hours) and have specialized supervision without impacting his other services and assistance programs. 

Historically, people with I/DD were allowed to be paid pennies on the dollar for their labor (a classification known as 14c) under the misconception that they were constantly being trained and heavily supervised or that their work was somehow less valuable. James is one of countless Georgians for whom the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities and other entities have been advocating to have their hourly pay transition from sub-minimum wage to a more equitable wage without it impacting the other supports that make their lives possible.

Every summer, James goes with his fellow participants to Camp ASCCA in Jackson Gap, Alabama to enjoy a week of outdoor activities and fellowship, including horseback riding, swimming, volleyball, pontoon boats, and talent show / karaoke nights. Ever the outdoors guy, James says he loves to walkaround the campgrounds and just look at the trees. According to AJ, as soon as they arrive at camp, James goes to the back of the vans to help everyone unload their bags and take them to their cabins. Camp is pretty much the only thing that can tear James away from the other thing he enjoys outside of work–every single Atlanta sports team, including and especially the Braves,

Depending on if he has doctor’s appointments or the facility’s needs, James works about 15-20 hours per week. He works under AJ’s supervision as they move seamlessly from The Arc’s main campus to the twelve different group homes The Arc operates and back again. On any given day, they might paint walls, unclog toilets (100% James and AJ’s least favorite job), or plant and water flower beds (1000% their most favorite). As they walk along and check in on the vegetable garden James planted for residents of one of the nearby group homes, the two recall a day recently when the state had mandated the fences at some of the group homes needed to be cleared of all brush and overgrowth. James started at one end and AJ, the other, meeting in the middle each time. They couldn’t believe how quickly they worked–clearing the fences at all three houses by noon!

You can tell that these two have become more than just co-workers; they’re good friends. Though James is sometimes a bit hard to understand, AJ translates every word he says. “Tell them your favorite thing to say when we stand outside at lunch and watch the cars on the road,” AJ teases. James smiles, sheepishly, and gets a little tickled. “Pretty car, pretty money!”

When asked what he wishes for the world, James says, “People should stick together.” Thanks, James. The world should take a page from your playbook.

Writer: Shannon Turner Photographer: Jessica Whitley