Correspondent photo / Gary S. Angelo Jimmy Sutman, president and founder of ISLE, Golden String and The Purple Cat, which all are programs aimed at adults with developmental disabilities, stands with his alpacas as his dogs play at Farmer Casey’s Ranch in Coitsville.

YOUNGSTOWN — Jimmy Sutman, president and founder of ISLE (Iron and String Life Enhancement Inc.), Golden String Inc. and The Purple Cat, discovered his love for helping clients with developmental disabilities while working at a sheltered workshop in 1994.

At the time, Sutman was stunned by the population of clients with developmental disabilities. It was at that 1994 workshop, however, where Sutman met one of the clients, Joe Gallagher, who inspired Sutman to aim high and reach for his dreams while also helping the community.

“Joe Gallagher was my friend and was an adult in his 50s with disabilities. He had Down syndrome. He and I actually lived together in Struthers. This was the foundation of Iron and String Life Enhancement, which is our residential agency. He and I were pals and loved baseball and music. The county offered to move others with disabilities in with us after a while. The Purple Cat morphed from Iron and String Life Enhancement (ISLE) a little later in 2004, when Joe needed a better alternative day program and job,” Sutman said.

In 2005, Sutman and Gallagher started Touch The Moon Candy Saloon on South Phelps Street in downtown Youngstown. Touch the Moon specializes in regional candy, as well as candy of the vintage era. Touch The Moon was of one of the first Purple Cat and Golden String Inc. establishments to offer employment for adults with physical and mental disabilities.

Gallagher died from pneumonia in 2011, but Sutman said his spirit of infectious optimism, drive and energy live on through The Purple Cat and Golden String Inc.’s programs.

ISLE and Golden String Inc., a nonprofit organization that works with adults with disabilities and provides an adult day-care environment, operates its own internet radio station, Golden String Radio, and has its own music education class, The Feral Cats ( The Purple Cat Music Class). It also has its own arts and crafts program, as well as atheater production program called Purple Cat Productions.

It also offers Farmer Casey’s Ranch and GabbaCamp in Coitsville.

“GabbaCamp is our developing camp and resort for our friends with disabilities. They deserve their own campground and resort. They will share it with us;I know their hearts. How much is it worth to get an adult who sits in a wheelchair into the forest? How much is it worth to get them in a swimming pool? On a horse? It’s priceless, and we’re going to do it. All of us,” Sutman said.

Sutman was born in Youngstown. His maternal grandparents were born in the Southern Italian region of Calabria, Italy.

“I love my cousins from there. My paternal grandparents and my father came from Pittsburgh. My dad met my mom while attending Youngstown State University. I lived on the South Side of Youngstown and then moved to Poland,” Sutman said.

For Sutman, working with clients with disabilities has been a source of great wisdom.

“One of the many blessings of this job and vocation is the invitation to celebrate the unique individuality of the human spirit,” Sutman said, noting working in this field has taught him to analyze the needs of others.

“I am a friend to my clients. How rewarding is that? I am a problem solver too. Solving problems for people who the world often ignores is important. I want to celebrate them and their unique ways. I love people on the fringes of society and I want to explore their lives and expose them to the things I love. I want to improve their self-worth. My work has brought me closer to God. I learn that we need to give, give, give,” Sutman said.

Outside of work, Sutman loves going to church and attends St. Columba Cathedral, St. Stephen of Hungary Church, and SS. Peter and Paul Church, all in Youngstown.

“I love the ethnicity and humble nature of my fellow parishioners. It is inspiring. I also love Lit Youngstown, and I am working on my MFA in poetry and love creative writing. I DJ on Golden String Radio a few nights per month. I love music, and I want to learn so much more about music. I study Italian too, and I care for alpacas and trees. I try to surround myself with vibrancy,” Sutman said.

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