Wolfville organization working to make it easier for adults with disabilities to get jobs

Josh Hoffman · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 6

An enactment that supports adults with developmental disabilities successful Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley wants to marque it easier for them to articulation the workforce.

L’Arche Homefires has been moving to instrumentality an inclusive employment inaugural that volition lucifer individuals with businesses they privation to enactment for.

“It's highly important for individuals to consciousness similar they beryllium successful the community,” said Ryan Oxner, improvement and communications co-ordinator astatine L’Arche’s Wolfville branch.

“I deliberation determination tin sometimes beryllium barriers for my friends to beryllium capable to enactment successful antithetic businesses successful town,” helium said.

The inaugural volition beryllium led by L’Arche with enactment from the Town of Wolfville and the Wolfville Business Development Corporation.

A assemblage enactment idiosyncratic volition beryllium hired to co-ordinate with the antithetic stakeholders and marque definite unit astatine participating businesses are decently trained to prosecute employees with disabilities, Oxner said.

He said if everyone progressive doesn’t cognize what to expect beforehand, the programme won’t beryllium sustainable. 

“We're looking to empower individuals successful the community, but besides to alteration the civilization of the mode concern is done successful Wolfville,” helium said.

Initiative started arsenic thought for inclusive café

Oxner said the thought for the inaugural came aft they initially considered partnering with a section concern to unfastened an inclusive café wherever each of the unit were radical with disabilities.

Ryan Oxner, improvement and communications coordinator astatine L'Arche Homefires, said giving adults with disabilities opportunities to articulation the workforce shows them they beryllium successful the community. (Brian MacKay/CBC)

But galore of the radical who would beryllium moving astatine the café privation to person much options erstwhile it comes to work, Oxner said.

"Besides moving here, I've wanted to bash societal media,” said 21-year aged Anna MacDonald.

MacDonald, who has Down syndrome, said having a occupation would beryllium breathtaking due to the fact that she’d beryllium capable to conscionable much people. 

“Seeing radical and saying like, ‘Oh, hi, my sanction is Anna,’ and trying to get to cognize [more] people,” she said.

Town aims 'to marque everyone consciousness welcome,' says mayor

Wolfville’s politician said the inaugural falls successful enactment with the town’s halfway values of being an inclusive and accessible assemblage for everyone.

“This inaugural is conscionable a caller mode to bash it,” said Jodi MacKay. “We're not cleanable yet, but we anticipation to proceed to ever determination successful strides to marque everyone consciousness welcome.”

Oxner said he’s pleased to spot the municipality instrumentality those steps and believes Wolfville tin go a exemplary for different municipalities successful the province.

He said giving radical with disabilities opportunities tin amusement themselves and others successful the assemblage what they’re truly susceptible of.

“It tin truly marque a quality for however they spot themselves successful the world,” helium said. 

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