Job-shadow experiences highlight work by people with disabilities

Gordon MacIntyre has worked at Lowe’s in Sherwood Park for three years. He makes sure everything is faced forward and the aisles look good. The 33 year old is a pro, and proud of what he does.

“My job is very simple for me,” MacIntyre said. “This is an amazing company. This is like family here to me.”

On Thursday, his shift wasn’t like every other shift. He had the chance to show Strathcona County councillor Glen Lawrence the ropes. It’s part of Disability Employment Awareness Month facilitated by Winder Inclusive Community Service (WICS).

“He listened very well and I was really pleased. He asked me some good questions,” MacIntyre said.

“I think it’s great because I get to listen to him about how happy he is with his job and the people he works with,” Lawrence said. “He feels like he is contributing to something.”

“It would be really neat to just do a different one all the time because you learn… I am learning and when you’re learning. That’s good.”

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WICS executive director Buddy Winder said the group supports adults with developmental disabilities and helps get people connecting to their community in meaningful ways.

“What we are really trying to change is that mindset of people living with a disability. We want to show people that they have same wants, needs and desires as all of us and they want to contribute to their communities.”

This is the first time WICS has organized several job-shadow experiences with its clients. It hopes it leads to breaking barriers for people living with disabilities looking for employment.

“We will approach some places of employment and when they see that person has a disability, their response is: ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t think (we) have anything they could do here,'” Winder said.

Winder said this experience is showing people are actually doing jobs that anybody else there would do.

“We want to really show everybody that people have gifts and abilities, they want to share it, they want a pay check, they want to pay taxes, they want what all of us have.”

While this experience was about helping others gain perspective, for MacIntyre, it was a chance to gain more confidence and show off all he can do.

“To be like a mentor for Glen is pretty awesome for me.

“It feels darn good and it feels awesome to say that because I get to show Glen what I do.”