Mother of a young adult with an intellectual disability, Marianne Faraud wishes to encourage other entrepreneurs to do like her, that is to say, to hire people living with this disability.
His start-up business, Les fermes CitiPouss, is located in an industrial building in the former Cité de la mode, in the Ahuntsic district. In one of its large premises, Maria, Brandon, Frannie and Emma delicately handle green shoots, their backs covered with a white coat and their heads covered with a net.
“It’s really cool. It relaxes me,” says Maria, weighing 35 grams of bok choy. She then adds 30 grams of mizuna in the cul-de-poule, then passes the baton to Brandon. The latter places the container on his scale, then resets it to add 30 grams of red cabbage. Frannie then takes care, with great concentration, of the mustard microgreens.
The line work ends with Emma, who places the greenery in a plastic container. “I wrap it and stick the labels on,” she explains, after which she happily places the finished product on a shelf.
The four colleagues, aged 16 to 18, are completing a preparatory training course for work at the Center François-Michelle, a school specializing in intellectual disabilities. The group has been going to CitiPouss every Wednesday for the past month, the day after harvesting the shoots in the hydroponic greenhouse, for a shift of approximately four hours, under the watchful eye of specialist educator Gabriel Boileau.
“They learn to complete tasks, to arrive on time, to manage their emotions in the workplace, to dress properly, to communicate well with colleagues,” reports Mr. Boileau.
The objective is for them to be able to hold a job at the end of their school career. And young people all have different aspirations. Brandon really likes cooking, while Maria would like to work in a daycare. “I have younger cousins. I really enjoy taking care of them,” she says.
They learn to complete tasks, arrive on time, manage their emotions in the workplace, wear good dress, communicate well with colleagues
The company’s mission
Marianne Faraud founded her company with the mission of integrating people with intellectual disabilities. Her own daughter Cloé, now 19 years old, attended the François-Michelle Center and she was the first to work there. “She helped us a lot to set up the farm. It helped her develop and take her place,” says the tall, short-haired businesswoman.
For now, Mme Faraud is unable to make new full-time hires at his small start-up business. However, three days a week, visitors to the company’s café-restaurant, called Cabane CitiPouss, are welcomed by Emmanuel, a 42-year-old man.
“People with disabilities are often in the background. We wanted to stop hiding this disability and show the enrichment that their presence brings to everyone,” argues M.me Faraud.
At Cabane CitiPouss, she set up a system to support Emmanuel in his tasks. In particular, it has a routine sheet, on which each task is accompanied by a moving image that can be moved to the “completed” side of the sheet.
To make it easier to take orders at the counter, each product is marked with a color and number code. Customers can hand Emmanuel the card corresponding to their choice. For example, when yellow 4 is selected on the digital terminal, a specific type of sandwich is ordered.
“Even I use it every day. It’s much simpler,” says M.me Faraud.
Inspire and equip
To encourage other employers to hire different people, Mme Faraud published a document on the web entitled “Cultivating change, one shoot at a time”, in which she shares testimonials and advice. For example, she recommends prioritizing repetitive tasks and giving new tasks gradually. According to his observations, these workers are loyal, committed and grateful. They would also have respect for instructions and procedures.
Adeline Zilliox, project coordinator for the Group of specialized organizations for the employment of people with disabilities, agrees with these findings. “It’s a qualified and willing workforce, who wants to show that they are capable of working,” she says.
Unfortunately, she still sees a lot of prejudice and fear on the part of employers. Mme Zilliox wants to reassure them: it is possible to be equipped and supported. One of the organizations that offer this type of service in Montreal and Laval is L’Étape. L’Étape’s integration agents can spend a certain number of days with the employee and employer on the ground to implement simple measures, such as reminders and icons.
The organization works with a pool of companies, but “you have to work hard” to recruit new ones, believes François Huard, the general director. “Since the start of the year, the job market has been really difficult for people with disabilities,” he adds, since the labor shortage is less pronounced.