Inclusion Alberta celebrates 25 years of jobs for people with intellectual disabilities

Inclusion Alberta, which helps people with intellectual disabilities find work, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

An Alberta non-profit is celebrating nearly 1,000 meaningful jobs created for people with intellectual disabilities in the 25 years since launching an initiative to reverse disproportionate unemployment statistics.

Inclusion Alberta’s Rotary Employment Partnership is the reason Lina Lu doesn’t worry about her son’s future.

Peter Lee was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects muscle control, balance, movement and coordination.

He moved to Alberta from Taiwan with his family when he was in Grade 5. His mother, who spent the first half-month of his life in the hospital with him, said she worried about what kind of supports he’d need.

But for the better part of the last decade, Lee has woken up, gotten ready and driven himself to work for his 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift at NFP Insurance Brokerage and Consulting.

“I feel confident. It feels stable. It feels that there’s a meaningful daily life, every day … it’s fun working in this office,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Lee works as an administrative assistant – and a good one at that, says his boss.

Lee will tell you that he sorts a lot of mail, but he’s being humble, according to Tyler Dunsmore, NFP’s senior vice president. Dunsmore says he leads administrative tasks involving office equipment and organization.

“When Peter started with us, he was part-time and he was taking a bus to our company. He’s worked himself into a full-time role. He’s increased his responsibility, simply of his own accord,” he said.

“Peter provides extreme value to our organization and to our office through positivity, consistency and just being a valuable member of our company.”

Lee’s mom says he’s always been outgoing and chatty, so watching him thrive makes her proud.

“He lives a normal life like everyone else. He has income, his own finances, he’s part of a social circle now, making friends, especially co-workers that support him,” Lu said.

Inclusion Alberta was created to support the interests of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. It is celebrating a 25-year-long partnership with two Rotary Districts that connect prospective employees with businesses.

With the help of Government of Alberta funding, the Rotary Employment Partnership works to create job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. The first ever person hired through the partnership is now celebrating their 25th work anniversary.

Wendy McDonald, Inclusion Alberta’s COO, said the project has created around 960 jobs for a group of people who would otherwise be facing a staggering unemployment rate.

“The unemployment rate for people with intellectual disabilities is close to 80 per cent … we’re working to change that reality,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

The partnership’s motto is “real jobs for real pay,” she added.

“Minimum wage and above in all sectors, all kinds of industries, all kinds of sizes of companies. It can be an insurance brokerage like NFP, we have people that work in vet clinics and law offices and construction sites,” she said.

“We’ve discovered that anything is possible, anybody can work. There is no limit to where somebody with an intellectual disability can make a contribution.”

Inclusion Alberta currently works with 165 companies across the province to provide employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa