Habitat International Inc. Hires Disabled Workers, Survives Recession

Habitat International Inc. has won plenty of awards, not for what it makes but for what it promotes -- employment for the disabled and disadvantaged.

NBC Nightly News reports that 80 percent of Habitat International's workforce has a disability, either physical or mental. Not only is the artificial grass company functioning well during the nation's economic recession, it is thriving.

David Morris, co-founder and CEO of Habitat International Inc., told NBC that his company's workers give back in many ways.

"The people we hire have normally been tossed aside by society. ... All they want is a chance and opportunity. We're mentoring them but they're making us better people."

Habitat International refers to its workers' disabilities as "positive distractions," maintaining that the word "disabled" carries the connotation of its employees being useless or unable to contribute to society.

Due to an environment of "love, kindness and compassion," Habitat International's website says its "'able' workers often out-produce the competition 2-1."