Quebec cafe offers jobs, training to people with disabilities

CTV National News: Cafe serves hope A cafe is hiring people with disabilities to show what they're capable of and staff members are grateful for the chance. Vanessa Lee reports

For someone with a disability, finding a quality job can be a challenge.  But one cafe outside Montreal is trying to change that, one coffee at a time.

Bertin Savard and his 24-year-old son Jasmin recently opened Au Croissant 21, a cafe in Rigaud, Que., about 68 kilometres west of Montreal.

The cafe focuses on offering employment and teaching life skills to people with disabilities.  Savard said the idea to open the cafe came after Jasmin, who has Down syndrome, struggled to land a job despite his passion for work, attention to detail and ability to take on different roles.

“I am (a) parent,” Savard told CTV Montreal. “I protect my son.”

Now, Jasmin is working in the cafe where he takes orders, handles the cash register and bakes cookies.

“I really like working here,” he said in French.

Statistics Canada research from 2011 indicates 12 per cent of people with a disability were refused a job because of their condition.

Au Croissant 21 has seen this problem first-hand. They’ve only been since May, but they’ve been flooded with resumes.

Anais Sabourin, 14, is one of the cafe’s first employees. She has cerebral palsy and mostly works on weekends alongside her service dog.

“For me it's not a job, it's something I like and it's a passion,” she said.

The cafe hopes to hire more employees as it expands.

With a report from CTV Montreal’s Vanessa Lee