Community Living North Bay assisting people with disabilities find employment
October is National Disability Employment Awareness month. This month highlights the importance of diversity in the workforce and the opportunities those who have a disability provide at their job.
Community Living North Bay is a non-profit organization that assists people with disabilities and their families. It help find jobs for those with disabilities seeking employment.
When Mathew Tresnak was only 2-years-old, he was diagnosed with cancer. The radiation caused him to become developmentally delayed.
With the help of Community Living North Bay, he now works part time at TCM Produce in the city.
“I recently just passed a year at TCM,” he explained. “During COVID, I was recently trying to find a job and they called me last September and told me about the job.”
As part of his job, Tresnak is a cleaner, maintenance worker and also assists in putting produce away.
“I was nervous at first once I first started,” he recalled. “But once I got the hang of it, it’s become a breeze it seems.”
To help those with intellectual like Mathew, Community Living North Bay has a program called ‘Employment First’ managed by Mackenzie Mannering.
“We look for competitive employment and we work with the business community and the candidate to find a good fit for the person that we’re supporting,” said Mannering.
The Employment First program has been running since 2009. Over the years, Mannering says all types of people with all types of intellectual disabilities seek employment and Community Living North Bay points them in the right direction.
“We love seeing everyone working out in the community and it’s great hearing how it’s changed their life,” she said. “We work with many different industries, restaurants, grocery stores and car dealerships. You name it.”
Tresnak credits Community Living North Bay for helping him with his employment.
“If someone asked me how I like working, I always tell them that community living always helps people that have a disability,” he concluded.
According to statistics from the Ontario Disability Employment Network, 78 per cent of Canadians are more likely to buy from a business that hires workers with a disabilities.
Community Living North Bay’s Employment First team will be lighting up city hall purple and blue on Thursday, Oct. 21 as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The ‘Light It Up! For NDEAM’ is a one-night-only, co-ordinated special lighting event happening across Canada.
It's aimed at spotlighting the many ways people who have a disability contribute to businesses and their communities, helping companies be successful and competitive.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.