Employees with intellectual, developmental disabilities brighten Lakes Region workforce, economy

Angie doesn’t mind doing one of the most-hated chores of all time: the dishes. The extra elbow grease needed for scrubbing pots and pans is no problem for her. Silverware? Bring it.

At The Flip Side, a downtown Laconia restaurant offering breakfast and lunch seven days a week, and dinner on Fridays, Angie diligently does the dishes on Mondays and Fridays, a job she’s super grateful for, and very good at.

“She's very proud of what she does. She does an amazing job, she really does,” said owner Jeanin “Nin” Onos.

As part of her restaurant’s business model, Onos employs people like Angie through the Lakes Region Community Services StaffWorks program, which helps people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, or I/DD, find employment. Employees require varying amounts of support, and The Flip Side management tries to accommodate as much support as possible.

“We have roughly 25 employees here on average,” said Onos. “I want to say five to six employees have some sort of special needs or accommodations that we need to make.”

One of those accommodations is a direct support professional, or DSP. These individuals offer assistance by way of support, said Caleb Young, 21, who works with staff member Jim, both at the restaurant and in his group home.

There was one weekend Young took someone camping. Otherwise, he’s usually administering medication and generally keeps individuals safe while observing behavior.

“It's a great job. I really enjoy it. It's rewarding,” he said, adding Jim has become quite confident in his job at The Flip Side. “He doesn't really need my help that much anymore. If I try to help him too much, he's like, ‘I got this. I got this.’ So, you know, that's a great thing, because there's been a lot of growth in him.”

Jim, 56, likes his job at The Flip Side and has been working as a front-of-house employee for a few months. He agrees he doesn’t really need Young’s help too much — unless it’s a large party.

“When there's a big table with a lot of people, he helps me bring the plates in,” Jim said, adding Young will sometimes help bring drinks to customers when he has a lot going on.

Most of Jim’s time is spent clearing tables of dirty dishes and bringing them to Angie while also greeting customers and taking their orders.

“I like to meet people.”

‘Celebrating value and talent’

This month, the Department of Labor recognizes employees like Angie and Jim during National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

“In October 2025, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual recognition of the positive impact of people with disabilities in the American workforce,” reads the U.S. Department of Labor website, though it hasn’t been updated since Oct. 1 due to the federal government shutdown.

The page goes on to explain how a theme is selected each year, and this year, NDEAM 2025 will recognize the value and talent American workers with disabilities add to workplaces and the economy.

The message behind this year’s official theme is “celebrating value and talent.”

At Laconia High School, the Life Skills Program, which teaches transitional skills to students with I/DD who are aging out of the public school system, celebrates value and talent every day.

“This year, our students have participated in on-campus job training, partnered with local businesses for work-based learning, and gained essential independent living skills through real-world practice. Each success story is a testament to the value and talent we honor this month — and every day,” said Amy Hinds, interim superintendent for Laconia schools.

“Let’s continue building a more inclusive community that recognizes ability, empowers potential, and celebrates everyone’s contribution.”

Life Skills Program Director Jen Sottak agrees, adding the program does a tremendous job readying young adults to live independently.

“It’s really kind of so much more than job skills itself, it’s life skills, like entering a business and looking for help. Managing all those different things,” Sottak said, who’s also filling in as the director of special education at LHS.

A lot of the work around placing students in work environments depends on two factors: those individuals who can articulate what they need and have more independence, and those who need more support. Skills can be practiced right on campus in a simulated apartment and classroom, which is truly a boon to the district.

Several of Sottak's former and current students have jobs, including positions at Sal’s Pizza on Union Avenue and with the school district facilities department.

The community — and the school atmosphere — provides so much support for these valued individuals, it blows Sottak away.

“I can’t say enough about our school community, and that includes the students. We have unified sports here, students who volunteer their time and they come work with students in our program. And it’s an amazing thing to watch come to fruition where we have students walking throughout the building and they’re talking to each other. It’s just so natural. It’s not forced.”

‘Building dreams’

The issues people with I/DD face go beyond employment, though. Similar challenges the rest of us face, like health care and housing, don’t just go away.

In a 2021 report published by AARP with data from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and The Arc, a nonprofit organization which “promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” an estimated 80% of people with I/DD live with a family caregiver.

In Gilford, Gary and Lisa DiMartino are all too familiar with that statistic.

Their 30-year-old son, John Michael, has resided with his parents his whole life, and now, as they begin to age, the critical housing shortage for those with I/DD becomes a scary reality.

It’s why the DiMartinos have endeavored, with great enthusiasm, to build a supportive housing campus in the Lakes Region for adults with I/DD. Their nonprofit, The Home Possible Project, believes in “building dreams.”

“Most parents that do the majority of caregiving for their adult children, we all worry about the same thing. You know, we're providing the care. We try to get them integrated out into the community as best we can, give them the best lives we can. However, we can't do it forever,” said Gary in an interview.

Using a toolkit developed by Visions for Creative Housing Solutions as a guide, the end goal of the nonprofit includes a home where individuals are “living among a caring circle of friends, with individualized wrap-around support services [which] allows each person to lead an engaged and fulfilled life, as a contributing member of our community,” according to the Home Possible Project website.

Currently, The Home Possible Project’s build is stalled. They have the six acres of land — thanks to First United Methodist Church of Gilford for a nominal $1 annual lease for 99 years — but not the funds to move forward.

“We are ready to build. That's how we are right now,” Gary said. “The only thing that's holding us up at this point is basically the money.”

“Really, at this point, we're shovel ready,” added Lisa.

Recently, The Home Possible Project was awarded a $150,000 capacity-building grant through the Community Development Finance Authority, and they intend to hire a fundraiser to help them lead a capital campaign to get them to the finish line.

Hobbies and more

In the meantime, John Michael enjoys cooking and food shows, and he’s a big fan of going to the library. He also volunteers his time at Hands Across the Table, where he helps shop for food and make lunches. 

He’s a very social guy, and “he hopes to some day move into The Home Possible Project’s forever home with his friends,” according to the nonprofit's website.

Living in a community home with individuals with similar developmental challenges proves beneficial in more than one way. Socialization is a big part of routine, and 603 United makes a point to offer social inclusion activities to keep folks entertained, expanding their skills and keeping them far from isolation.

Located at Belknap Marketplace in Belmont, 603 United offers programs like unified sports, trivia nights and the upcoming Winter Fun Festival, with the intention of fostering healthy relationships and lifestyles. 

Several of the individuals involved with The Home Possible Project socialize at 603 United, including a volunteer with the Laconia Police Department named Ian. 

“He comes in and works one day a week, doing shredding and some other tasks, and he’s a very valuable asset to us,” said Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield. “It’s always great to see his beaming face when he sees me, and he’s a real pleasure to be around.”

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Kiera Moynihan contributed to this article. Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.