Global Courant 2023-05-17 06:08:58
At the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Center in the Montreal suburb of Cote Saint-Luc, you’ll find a café that serves more than coffee and sandwiches.
It gives students like Zach Kruse the chance to learn valuable skills outside of the classroom.
“I’ve served coffee and pastries, made sandwiches: spicy tuna or bagels and lox,” 19-year-old Zach Kruse told CTV National News. “I also did the dishes and the cash register.”
The Summit School, an English language school in Montreal for students with special needs, opened the cafe last year with the aim of better preparing its neurodivergent students for the job market.
The school also has a floral program, a leather workshop and a copy center, where young people can gain valuable work experience.
“I believe in myself that I can succeed when it comes to finding a new job,” Gabriel Mefsoutis, who graduates next month, told CTV National News.
But people with disabilities are often discriminated against.
According to Inclusion Canada, there are about 500,000 working-age individuals with intellectual disabilities in Canada, but only 25 percent are employed.
And at just 14.3 percent, adults with autism have the lowest employment rate in Canada.
“It’s not equal opportunity and so our companies need to shift their paradigm, and they need to start looking at their spaces differently and thinking about how we can be more inclusive,” said Summit School Chef Instructor JJ Heffring, a trained chef. school eight years ago.
In Heffring’s kitchen, students learn much more than just cooking and baking. There is also teamwork and problem solving: assets in every field.
“My dream is to work in a real restaurant,” said 20-year-old Noah Dayan-Mandelker, adding that he would love to bake for customers.
He is part of a new generation of employees eager to showcase their talents to companies willing to give them a chance.
