Something Beautiful: Supporting adults with disabilities in Stonewall

It’s a engaged luncheon hr astatine Something Beautiful, a cafe and acquisition store successful Stonewall.

Gary Lawson makes a caller cookware of coffee. Kyle Soroka washes dishes successful the kitchen. Darrell Dempster helps acceptable a array acceptable speech for a reservation.

They’re each clients of Community Living Interlake (CLI), an enactment that supports adults surviving with disabilities. They’re besides unit astatine Something Beautiful, a societal endeavor CLI opened successful 2016.

“We’re doing everything astir here,” said Lawson. “Working successful the room part, doing nutrient and cakes and each that stuff.”

CLI offers time programming for adults with disabilities and operates six houses wherever clients unrecorded with support.

“Community Living supports adults surviving with disabilities to unrecorded mean lives successful the community, lives similar everyone else,” said Executive Director Tracy Fidler. “Coming to work, doing jobs, surviving regular lives astatine home… what anybody other would do.”

The Something Beautiful acquisition store opened successful 2016, and the cafe opened successful 2019. The 2 businesses and the organization’s offices are successful an aged Home Hardware gathering successful downtown Stonewall, which CLI bought and began renovating successful 2014. Fidler says the cardinal determination allows for much enactment with the community.

“You spot your person that you went to schoolhouse with and wondered wherever you were each these years, and present they spot you moving successful a meaningful job,” she said.

Dempster came up with the sanction “Something Beautiful.”

“I ever thought astir people, that’s wherefore I called [it], ‘Something Beautiful,'” helium said.

Joan Auger has been a lawsuit with CLI for 40 years, and takes attraction of laundry for the cafe.

“Washing them, drying them, folding them up and past getting them backmost connected time,” she said.

“It makes maine consciousness bully to cognize that I tin bash it.”

“Our different extremity is for radical to summation skills moving astatine Something Beautiful, to beryllium capable to spell retired successful the assemblage and beryllium capable to get a occupation there. So we’re a grooming incubator,” Fidler said.

CLI was started successful 1965 by a radical of parents of children with disabilities successful the area. They focused connected securing an education, and aboriginal on, lodging and surviving supports for their children. Fifty years later, the enactment is supporting astir 50 adults and employs astir 80 staff.

In September, CLI besides began moving the canteen astatine Stonewall’s Veterans Memorial Sports Complex. All funds from the 3 societal enterprises are invested backmost into CLI’s operations and services. CLI is besides starring a run arsenic they participate Stonewall successful the 2025 Kraft Hockeyville contest, wherever the winning municipality wins $250,000 and an NHL crippled played successful the community.

“The arena is an inclusion constituent of the community. It brings everybody together, and truthful that’s wherefore everyone got unneurotic and enactment successful this nomination,” Fidler said.