Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
The annual Mayor’s Committee Breakfast was held last week at Hart Hall and local leaders and nonprofit organizations were present to learn more about supporting special needs individuals, emphasizing their capabilities and potential as employees in conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month. “It’s very easy to overlook them,” Mayor Bill Miranda said about individuals with special needs. But if given the chance, “these people are capable of working very well, and sometimes they make some of the best employees,” he added. With the help of local nonprofit organizations that specialize in working with special needs individuals, the breakfast aimed to provide insight on the available resources and how the community can better support and provide an inclusive space in the workforce. The event was held during the month that marks the 80th anniversary of NDEAM, an annual recognition of the positive impact of people with disabilities in the American workforce. For Miranda, it was important to create a space where people could get together to speak more on the topic because “many special needs people wonder what’s going to happen to them, what are they going to do with their lives, how they’re going to exist, or how they’re going to make it,” he said. Key speakers Jeff Murphy, of Quest Pacifica LLC; Robert Shen, of Remo Inc.; Hilary Kokenda, of Zavikon; and John Prabhu, of LA North Studios, were preset to share information on skills-based hiring, benefits of hiring, coaching in action, support for employers and share with the community paid internships. To show the capabilities of individuals with special needs, Golden Valley High School’s Grizzlies Cafecito served hot and cold drinks to those in attendance. Grizzlies Cafecito is part of the school’s Adult Transition Program and works with special needs students from ages 18 to 22. At Golden Valley, the coffee service allows special needs students to practice their food service skills and it’s benefited the students by “giving them an opportunity to serve the community, it gives them an opportunity to understand how a business is and how it actually it is to have a job,” said Nadine Dib, a paraeducator and instructional assistant at Golden Valley. City Councilwoman Marsha Mclean noted that more people have become aware of how capable individuals with special needs are, and more employers have discovered certain misconceptions aren’t always true. “They are absolutely committed to doing their job,” she said. “So I’m hoping that we continue to be able to support people who need the work, who can do the work, and educate the community that these people are available to be hired, and they will be an asset to their company.” Miranda added: “We need to just make sure that special needs people know that there’s help everywhere, and the organizations that support spread the word out to help as many special needs people as possible.”
