KELOWNA — October is Community Living Month, a time to recognize the contributions people with developmental disabilities make to our communities year-round.
Dale Froese works at Starbucks in Central Park Plaza in Kelowna, and his co-workers say things wouldn’t be the same without him.
“He just uplifts everybody’s day, the morale of the store is higher when he is here,” says manager Trina Zacharias.
Thirty-five-year-old Froeze, who has a developmental disability, works for two hours, three days per week.
“I consider my co-workers family and I am very attached to them,” says Froese.
He got the job six years ago with the help of Community Living BC and a local organization called Tier Support Services.
“From the employers perspective, they get a faithful employee, statistics show that there is less sick time, less missed time, they stay at their job longer, I mean those are positive bottom line benefits to an employer,” says Scott Klassen with Tier Support Services.
With so many seniors retiring in BC, Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility Linda Larson says there’s a shortage in the workforce in many areas. She says people with a developmental disability of any kind are an untapped resource.
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