It's not often that you come across someone who truly loves their job but Guilford truck driver James Devoe is an exception.
"I like the freedom of being out there, seeing different things," he said. "The construction sites, building roads -- I've done it all."
Devoe was 16 when he was in a motorcycle accident that wiped away his ability to walk.
"Of course, at 16 I thought my life was over with but I did not look at it like that. I said, 'I have got to live and keep going everyday,'" he said.
Despite his disability, Devoe is living out his dream and encourages others with similar challenges to do the same. That's why he's an advocate for Connectability, a state program that helps people with disabilities connect with prospective employers in the hopes of helping them find work.
"There are a lot of resources in the state of Connecticut and we have a bunch of partners and we help them figure out where to start," Amy Porter, who works with Connectability, said.
In Devoe's case, he required the help of the state Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to customize his truck so he can drive it. He works the gas and the breaks with a single lever. Getting a truck equipped with a lift wasn't an easy task for him. In fact, he worked with a Connecticut company that contracted another company out of Indiana. It cost about $15,000.
Devoe said he hasn't done it all himself. People have helped him along the way to -- something Connectability now makes possible.
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If you'd like more information about this program, go to Connectability's Web site.
