Having LaVeda come to work at our center has been such a wonderful experience. LaVeda’s team spent hours organizing every aspect of her job with our facility to create a support plan that would ensure her success. Her team then shadowed her for several weeks and faded themselves out to make a flawless transition. LaVeda is now working independently. Her ability to take over the kitchen and make lunch is a huge time saver. The hours I would spend each day in the kitchen are now being spent in my office getting work done. An added bonus to her employment with us is the exposure the daycare children have each day with her and seeing first hand that a person with a disability can be successful and independent.

Brandi Adamski
Director
Sioux Falls VA Child Care

 

Michelle Johnson has worked at Camille's Sidewalk Café for over 7 years. You will see Michelle in the dining room during lunch several times a week. She has an important job making sure customer's needs are met, solving any problems that come up and keeping the dining room tidy. 

The door to hiring people with disabilities was opened for Camille's by an employment specialist from Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare before they opened in 2003.. Beth said, “We didn’t seek out people with disabilities for employees, they came to us. And instead of thinking why it would not work, we asked ourselves, why wouldn’t this work?” Both Beth and Jennifer try to have a balanced workforce and keep a very open mind regarding hiring employees. Their philosophy is that they have specific jobs for people to do and they want to know if the prospective employee can do the job. They focus on the person’s abilities and what they are able to do.

Beth and Jennifer don’t hide the fact that they hire people with disabilities. They feel this helps all the employees accept each other and get along. Beth said that if there is an employee that does not accept a co-worker, that would be a clue that they would not treat the customers well either. In 2004, Camille’s received the Governors Award for Outstanding Employer of the Year. After being notified that they would be getting this award, Beth and Jennifer said “There’s an award for this? For us, it just seems like the right thing to do.” Stop into Camille's and say hi to Michelle!

Beth Behal and Jennifer Erickson 
Co-Owners, Camille's Sidewalk Café