In celebration of Community Living Month this week, we at Community Living Fort Frances and District (CLFFD) would like to highlight our Employment Services Program. There are eight Community Living staff (Developmental Services Professionals) that work in our Employment Services Program. These staff provide support to 55 individuals who have an intellectual/developmental disability to achieve their employment goals.
Currently our Employment Services Program has 19 individuals placed in community employment.
CLFFD’s Employment Services Program provides the following supports/services:
Job Coaching
Our Job Coaches support individuals with an intellectual/developmental disability to find and retain meaningful community employment. Job Coaches help with resume creation, skill building, administer job readiness courses and much more. A CLFFD Job Coach can join the individual on shift to support them to learn the job, phasing out once the individual is ready to work on their own. Community Employers can contact CLFFD anytime with any concerns in regards to the individual and their job performance and CLFFD will work to find a solution and provide valuable insight to the employer. Community Employers can rest assured that individuals supported by CLFFD’s are well prepared for the labour market and have been assessed by our program to be capable of doing the position we assist them in applying for.
Good Impressions Print and Design
CLFFD owns and operates Good Impressions Print and Design. We are a fully functional print shop that fulfills a variety of orders from customers in our community. From wedding invitations, to pamphlets to large banners, we do it all! We have three fantastic Graphic Designers ready to make your design visions a reality. In addition to being a design and print shop, individuals we support who are looking for employment can begin their journey by working at Good Impressions, it is here where our Job Coaches can assess an individual’s abilities, their special talents, work on job performance and improve skills that are essential to gainful employment. Good Impressions provides a safe, professional work environment where individuals can work on their employment skills before taking those skills to the competitive community employment opportunities.
Grounds Crew
Much like Good Impressions, CLFFD operates a grounds crew throughout the year. You have probably seen our hard-working crew shovelling snow and cutting grass all around town. We provide snow and lawn maintenance to a variety of residential customers. One of our Job Coaches runs the crew which consists of four to six individuals we support. This Job Coach assesses the crew member’s safety knowledge, employment skills, mechanical aptitude and over all dedication to outdoor labour-intensive work. The goal of our Grounds Crew program is to prepare the members of the crew for gainful community employment through hand over hand guidance, encouragement and training.
We asked individuals that are supported through CLFFD’s Employment Services Program what they like about their jobs and how CLFFD’s Employment Services Program has supported them, here is what they said:
“I enjoy interacting with people in the community. Supported Employment job coached me and helped me become confident,” said Jacey, who has been employed at Safeway since March 2023.
“I love cleaning the school, I love helping people. Supported Employment helped me do my cover letter and resume, attended the interview and continue to assist me when I need it,” Danny said, who has been employed with the Northwest Catholic District School Board since 2020.
“I like working alone and working on deliveries. Supported Employment helped me stay motivated while searching for employment,” said Jake, who was a former CLFFD Grounds Crew member and has now been employed with Gardewine since March 2023.
“I like keeping things clean. Service with a smile! I meet a lot of people; I enjoy helping the elderly. Great support given by Supported Employment staff,” said Tyler, a Tim Hortons employee since 2009.
“Photography has always been a passion of mine. I sell cards, calendars, posters. My photos are taken around the Fort Frances District. Employment services have been my support system. They have helped me become more independent,” said Devon, who is a self-employed photographer of Frog Island Photography
“I like to clean. The staff are friendly and very good to me,” said Clayton who has worked with Green’s BrandSource Home Furnishings since 2016.
