New Jersey shop provides employment opportunities for people with autism

    MAPLEWOOD, New Jersey (WCBS) -- A New Jersey business is helping people with autism find meaningful employment when they often struggle to find work.

At Beloved Bath in Maplewood, they make bath products and candles and ship the items all across the country.

"I'm putting labels on candles," said Paul Silliere, an employee who has autism. "Love it. It's so much fun."

Providing jobs for people with autism The shop's mission is to provide employment to people with autism.

"They are very accommodating to people with disabilities," employee Gabriel Lyons said.

Longtime friends Pat Miller and Pam Kattouf founded Beloved Bath in 2017, after their own sons were diagnosed with autism.

"As our children aged, we started to hear that there were not great opportunities for jobs for people with autism," Kattouf said.

80% of adults with autism are not employed According to the Centers for Disease Control, 5.4 million adults in the U.S. have autism. About 80% percent of them are either under-employed or unemployed.

"It was really important for us to sort of look at that crisis, which is a crisis in our community, and say, 'How can we change that?'" Miller said.

Beloved Bath now employs about 15 people with autism.

"This is a great vocation for individuals with autism because it is so structured," Miller said.

There is also a wait list of nearly 40 more people hoping to find employment and empowerment. So every sale means an opportunity.

"What I like about my job is that it's very structured and very organized," employee Amanda Landisi said.