Mayor Clive Tolley signed the City of Moose Jaw proclamation to declare October as Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) on Oct. 11 during a ceremony at City Hall attended by representatives from SaskAbilities, Inclusion Moose Jaw, and Canadian Tire.
"I'm so excited to be here today as we mark Disability Employment Awareness Month. Saskatchewan organizations like ours set aside every October to promote the importance of supportive employment in our workplaces and to celebrate the many successes we've had in this area," said Allyson Schaefer, supervisor of the Regina-Moose Jaw branch of Partners in Employment. Partners in Employment is a division of SaskAbilities whose staff work year-round to connect job seekers with employers, including training, support, coaching, and consultation before, during, and after hiring.
"Partners in Employment has been a leader in supportive employment programming in Moose Jaw for the better part of two decades," Schaefer continued. "This proclamation shows how dedicated the City of Moose Jaw is, and the people of this community are, to inclusive hiring and supportive employment."
Partners in Employment offices across Saskatchewan connect with hundreds of employers annually. SaskAbilities staff were joined by Kari Ruiter, executive director of Inclusion Moose Jaw, and Sherry Matwe and Heather Lentini of Canadian Tire, representing partner employers who have benefited from connections to job seekers. TJ Karwandy, HR director at City Hall, was also present with Jeremy Faris, one of his employees who worked with Partners in Employment to find a position.
"I think it's absolutely essential that people be able to meet their potential and have jobs and work and earn a living and feel that sense of independence," Mayor Tolley told the assembly. "From counselling addictions and treatment, basic education, job readiness, skills training, workplace supports, subsidized employment positions, we use the whole toolkit ... so that we can get people connected through training and into full time employment, part time employment, or whatever they are capable of. It's very close to my heart, so I'm very happy to be here this morning and be participating in this announcement ceremony."
Kari Ruiter spoke to tell the story of hiring a visibly disabled individual at Inclusion Moose Jaw as a support worker. Ruiter said it is important for program participants at Inclusion Moose Jaw to have role models who are disabled so they can see paths to success and to being fully included in society.
"This is something that is very close to my heart ... because I am actually mother to a disabled child," Heather Lentini explained, before pausing for an emotional moment. She noted that as a mother, there are many supports for disabled children, but once those children turn 18, support becomes more and more rare.
"There's so much ableism built into our society, because historically we always sent (individuals with disabilities) to group homes, shut them away, pretended they didn't exist," Lentini said. "It's incredibly important as businesses to hire people, not only with visible disabilities, but invisible disabilities, and to continue to make accommodations, day after day, and give them positions they can succeed in.
"People always talk about quality of life with disabled people. And quality of life is letting them participate in society and be a part of our community, and to challenge our worldviews and our ideas."
Raelynne Doka, program manager at SaskAbilities' Regina branch, said the organization is on track to support more than 100 individuals with their employment this year.
"A healthy, sustainable economy promotes employment inclusion of people of all abilities," Doka said. "With the right job match and the right support, everyone can be employed."
Learn more at www.saskabilities.ca.
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