St. John's working to learn about jobs for persons with disabilities

Several dozen people gathered Monday at a workshop organized by the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities Newfoundland and Labrador (CODNL) in St. John's to discuss employment opportunities for those with disabilities.

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Council said the city's unemployment rate has bumped up to 6.5 per cent in recent months, but for people with disabilities, that number is more than 50 per cent.

We need to be able to stand up and meet that challenge.- Ron Ellsworth

Kelly White, executive director for CODNL, says the increased rate of unemployment among people with disabilities is due to employers fearing the adjustments required when hiring them.

"Mostly this is due to, I think, fears — fear of hiring by employers and attitudes about accommodation and adjustments in the workplace," she said.

The workshop's guest speaker Randy Lewis, a former vice-president with American pharmacy chain Walgreen's, described employers' resistance to hire persons with disabilities as a fear of the unknown.

Lewis has a son with autism. After examining his company through the eyes of his son, Lewis said he wanted to create more opportunities for people with disabilities.

He started a disabilities inclusion program at Walgreen's as the company was updating its distribution processes, with the goal of training and attracting people with disabilities to work at new distribution centres.

The program has helped employ over 1,000 people with disabilities over the last four years, said Lewis.

'Complete change in culture'

In addition, Lewis said program not only provides work for those who might not find work elsewhere, it also helps the day-to-day operations of the company run more smoothly.

"We've seen a complete change in culture. Our engagement's better, we have less absenteeism," said Lewis. "So it's turned out to be better than we ever expected."

Lewis said those positive results have started a corporate trend in the U.S. — a trend that St. John's city council believes can be carried over to Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth said as St. John's grows, more needs to be done to accommodate residents living with disabilities.

"As we have a population shift, we're seeing more and more people moving to our city with disabilities and challenges," said Ellsworth. "We need to be able to stand up and meet that challenge."