Dutch Moedt likes to play basketball and watch sports, but his focus this summer has been searching for a job.
“I want to work…with customers,” he said.
The 19-year-old lives with Down syndrome. He has experience stocking vending machines, walking dogs and is great with people.
“He can learn anything, he just needs a chance,” said his mom, Rebekah Moedt.
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Dutch has handed out more than 20 resumes and posted a Kijiji ad aimed at potential employers, but so far no luck.
“I always believed that he would just go and put himself out there and move out semi on his own and be independent,” Rebekah said. “I was just hoping it would be faster.”
JobLinks service coordinator Linda Rawbon helps people with disabilities find work. Although the Lethbridge service has many interested employers, she says there is still a long way to go when it comes to hiring employees with barriers.
“There is a stigma, where employers say, ‘what is a disability and how is that going to affect our employment?’ … We need to be able to educate our employers on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities,” she said.
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According to the most recent numbers from Statistics Canada, over 13 percent of Canadian adults were living with a disability in 2011. Eleven per cent of disabled people were unemployed, compared to just six per cent for the rest of the population.
“They are going to show up, they are going to do a darn good job, they are proud of the work,” Rawbon said.
For now, Dutch is crossing his fingers he will get a call back soon.
“I’m going to work hard and find a job,” he said.