After months of "blatant thieving" by Department of Human Services employees, Beverly Kindle said she had no choice but to close her small eatery.
Beverly's Snack Shop opened in the department's central office in downtown Little Rock in August, as part of a state program that offers people who are blind or visually impaired business opportunities in government buildings. The cafeteria sold fresh hot meals at breakfast and lunch and offered snacks, soda and coffee, and some basic items, like over-the-counter cold medicine during the day.
Kindle said Human Services Department officials ignored her complaints about customers, mostly state employees with the agency, who routinely bullied her about prices and shoplifted goods.
Sometimes state workers used fake money -- like old arcade tokens -- to pay for their meals, she said. They also lied about how much they handed over to pay, she said, recalling multiple times a customer would hand her a $5 or $10 bill, insisting it was a $20.
They'd eat food while waiting in line to pay and then leave before it was their turn to pay, she added.
"They thought I was blind," Kindle said. "So sometimes I could tell when they tried to undermine me. ... Because I had some sight, I thought I could make things better. But it didn't. I couldn't make a profit."
For months, Kindle said, she complained to her supervisor, who works for the Human Services Department.
The Vending Facility Program is overseen by the Services for the Blind Division, which falls under the department's purview. At least 16 vendors with visual impairments participate in the program statewide.
Kindle said she was told nothing could be done. She went to nonprofit Disability Rights Arkansas for help.
Cristy Park, an attorney with the organization, said she contacted state officials, but the bullying and stealing continued.
"It's a tricky situation," Park said. "I'm not sure if there's anything legal we can do to address it."
Amy Webb, a department spokesman, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in January that the agency has since installed cameras to monitor the area and security guards stand nearby during the lunch rush.
"If someone is identified as giving nonlegal tender, appropriate personnel action will be taken," she said.
Webb said the agency had investigated Kindle's complaint about the fake money earlier, but without video surveillance, officials couldn't confirm what happened.
She also said she wasn't aware of other complaints from different vendors.
Some vendors participating in the program meet quarterly. According to November meeting minutes, Kindle raised concerns about "customers being rude." But the minutes made no mention of the stealing, which Kindle said she discussed at length during the meeting.
Kindle, 54, left the eatery and the program in December.
She had managed shops through the program for nearly seven years, with previous locations at the Little Rock Office of Child Support Enforcement, the state Capitol and the Pulaski County Courthouse. Shoplifting wasn't common at those locations, she said. When it did happen, she said she reported stolen items and police officers arrested the person responsible.
"You arrive there at 5:30 a.m.," she said. "You get the bacon, eggs, coffee done, you get ready for the crowd to come in at 7. I'm tired of getting up out of bed so early to have people bullying me all day.
"I've been bullied all my life being a blind individual. I can't do it anymore. This is how we make our living. We can't do this if they're stealing from us."
Annual reports show there have been 15 to 17 businesses run through the vending facility program throughout the state since 2014. Another 15 to 16 mechanical vending machines, scattered along Arkansas' highways, also are maintained by people participating in the program, reports show.
Earnings are modest.
According to financial records from fiscal 2018, the year that ended June 30, vendors like Kindle made an average of $15,479 for the year. That, supplemented by disability income from federal funds -- roughly $770 a month for an individual -- puts the average vendor's annual salary at less than $24,800.
Sherrill Owens, who is blind, said he took over the cafeteria after Kindle. Some state employees continue to steal food and beverages, but most are very nice, he said.
Last year, Disability Rights issued a report that suggested Arkansas officials could do more to boost work opportunities for people with disabilities.
At least 3,100 Arkansans work under Section 14(c) certificates, a Depression-era provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to people with disabilities.
Most of them are employed in places called sheltered workshops, about 40 of which are scattered throughout Arkansas. At the workshops, employees perform rote tasks, often irrespective of individual skills or capabilities. Many earn just pennies an hour.
But the Vending Facility Program is a way for people who are blind or visually impaired to have gainful employment, learn vocational skills and interact with the general public, Park said.
"Any allegations of theft and mistreatment of individuals with disabilities are concerning," the Disability Rights attorney said.
"It is particularly concerning when the allegations are against employees of a state agency charged with protecting Arkansans and has a mission statement that declares, 'together we improve the quality of life of all Arkansans by protecting the vulnerable, fostering independence and promoting better health,'" she added.
"According to the information we have received, employees at the department's central office are doing the very opposite."
Sunday on 02/24/2019