Frank Community Farm
Many employers in today’s society take a zero-tolerance approach to mistakes in the workplace when interacting with their employees with disabilities. A particular mistake or misunderstanding may be consequated with a stern warning for a neurotypical employee, but the same mistake may be consequated with termination for an employee with disabilities. Employers sometimes subconsciously disallow new employees with disabilities the same “learning curve” as their typical coworkers, due to misconceptions regarding the ability of employees with disabilities to obtain new skills. Additionally, there is oftentimes an expectation in the workplace for people with disabilities to “act normal.”
The inspiration for Frank Community Farm was born out of a desire to create a workplace environment that celebrates and values the differences of its workers, and that takes advantage of each individual worker’s strengths and abilities, rather than discounting their abilities due to relative areas of weakness. Every person has areas of strength and areas of weakness, and our calling is to place each person in a position within the organization that will most allow him or her to demonstrate his or her strengths. In addition, we want to assist our workers in further developing a repertoire of skills that will help them continue their success in the workforce.
We believe that workers with disabilities do not need to “act normal” in order to be successful in the workplace. On the contrary, we want to celebrate them for exactly who they are.
We believe that individuals with additional behavioral, physical, and/or communication needs have as much to contribute to the workplace as those who do not.
We believe that by investing in the interests of those with disabilities, society will benefit tremendously from their unique perspectives and input.