USEFULNESS IS IMPORTANT TO SELF-IMAGE.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - For residents of LARC Ranch, even the simplest job helps build selmage and boost self-esteem.

At LARC Industries on Soledad Canyon Road, the mentally disabled learn to view themselves as competent, productive members of society by assembling first aid kits, stuffing envelopes, making magnets and doing other tasks for local businesses, said Gloria Allison, supervisor of LARC Industries.

``We've seen tremendous changes in their behavior and appearance since this program started,'' Allison said. ``They used to think of themselves as children, not as independent people with value. Now they really feel like they have an important job to do.''

Launched about 13 years ago, the job-skills program meshes with the LARC organization's goal, to enhance the residents' self-sufficiency and personal growth.

Some residents have progressed through LARC Industries to other jobs.

Gary Fitzgerald, 49, has dreamed of working in a grocery store for years and recently landed a job at Ralphs. Five days a week, he travels by bus from the LARC home on Apple Street in Newhall to the grocery store in Granary Square.

``I always wanted to bag groceries and move the carts,'' Fitzgerald said. ``I love the people there. They're nice.''

Nancy Prey, 52, who also lives at the Apple Street home, has been working at the Six Flags California food court for 11 years.

``I empty out the trash and sweep the floor,'' she said. ``I love the people I work with there.''

The word ``love'' crops up frequently in conversations. Immediate and overwhelming affection for strangers is common among mentally disabled people, Allison said. An important part of the job-training program is teaching the LARC residents to control the ways they express affection, she said.

``If they get a job in the community, we don't want them to lose it because they're hugging their boss all the time,'' she said. ``We're constantly training them not to hug, but we can't train them not to be loving. We tell them they can get just as much out of a handshake.''

On a recent day at LARC Industries, about 40 residents were busy assembling packages of small bandages for Swift Laboratories Inc. of Valencia, one of the facility's most devoted customers.

Swift pays LARC Industries a flat rate for each order. LARC pays its residents a minimum of $6.25 to complete the task, Allison said.

For the company, the relationship with LARC Industries is a win-win situation.

``It helps save us money, and they handle the job just as well as if we'd hired more people,'' said Greg Higgins, production manager at Swift. ``They like it because of the type of product it is, bandages and gauze and so forth. They really feel like they're helping people.''

Using a sheet of paper with eight squares on it to count eight bandage packages, 34-year-old Jeana Rubio said she feels as if she is helping to heal the sick.

``We're helping the hospital take care of sick people,'' said Rubio. ``I like to do this and I like to make new friends.''

The LARC residents are not doing the job purely out of generosity, however. Many say pay day is the best day of the week.

``I'm saving my money to buy CDs, videos and posters of the Backstreet Boys,'' Rubio said. ``They're cute.''

Leslie Meusborn, a LARC job coach, said the residents have matured a great deal simply through earning and saving money.

``They all have things they're working for, and they're really proud of themselves when they get it,'' she said. ``They feel good about themselves because they're going to work every day, just like everyone else.''