New York City's Cafe Joyeux aims to hire, train people with disabilities
NEW YORK -- Thursday is World Down Syndrome Day and a new campaign is challenging perceptions and assumptions.
In a commercial from the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, a woman with Down syndrome says, "Hey bartender. You assume that I cannot drink a margarita, so you don't serve me a margarita, so I don't drink a margarita ... If all your assumptions become reality, then assume that I can drink a margarita, so you serve me a margarita, so I drink a margarita ... Assume that I can so maybe I will."
The call to end assumptions is also happening here in New York City, where a cafe is on a mission to hire and train people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those with Down syndrome.
A cup of joe, or joy, goes a long way at Cafe Joyeux.
"We are happy and we are glad to be here ... For me, it's more special because we're all special. Everyone has all abilities," employee Victoria Bradley said.
For Bradley, it's a chance at a job, which is hard for people with Down syndrome and intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDDs, to get. It's Cafe Joyeux co-owner Yann Bucaille's goal to close this employment gap.
"This is more than a symbol. It's a victory for inclusion," Bucaille said.
This World Down Syndrome Day was a family and friends celebration before the cafe's official opening.
Cafe Joyeux, which is French for "happy," is also a nonprofit; all proceeds towards its cause of hiring and training people with IDDs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 80% of people with disabilities are unemployed.
Nicholas Stanford was overjoyed to get the job and the independence.
"It was amazing when I found out ... This shows that you can be independent ... You can live on your own, too," he said.
Its Lexington Avenue location will be the first in the United States and 21st worldwide. The cafe has employed about 250 people with disabilities since first opening in France seven years ago.
"You think you're giving to them. They give much more back, you see. We think that they deserve to have a space in the economical system," Bucaille said.
Cafe Joyeux officially opens to the public Friday. Thanks to the building owners, it will be operating rent-free for the next 10 years.
