D’IBERVILLE, Miss. (WLOX) – One business in D’Iberville makes equal employment opportunities and confidence a top priority for a special group of individuals.
A Latte Friends offers hot and iced coffee flavored to your liking.
“We have customers come in with some interesting requests. Every moment is a teachable moment,” said manager and former special education teacher Angele Mills.
Mills and owner Tanya Estep say special capabilities are cherished and valued at the coffee shop that provides employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“As a special education teacher for many years, when a lot of my students were getting ready to leave and graduate, there were not a lot of opportunities for them to get jobs, to join the military, or things like that,” said Estep. “A lot of their parents said I don’t know what I’m going to do with my child.”
Estep said that due to the lack of special needs employment opportunities and the uncertainty many parents face, she followed her heart to help.
“I retired and did a couple of other things, but this is where the passion is, this is what I want to do. It’s all about giving them employment and a purpose,” said Estep.
“I was a special educator for 17 years, some in Texas, some right here in Mississippi,” said Mills. “I just tried to find every opportunity for inclusion with my students. Then I just happened to follow Tanya when I saw another teacher was opening a shop.”
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Estep said it took a lot of work to get the business going.
“It was very difficult. We had somebody who guided us through some things that we needed to buy. We had someone pick out the espresso machine and the coffee,” said Estep.
Both Estep and Mills say they’ve already witnessed tremendous growth in their employees who typically work about 15 hours a week.
“We’ve also been blessed with other resources in the community and different job programs for adults with disabilities. We also have job coaches that come in for some of our superstars that help.”
As A Latte Friends inches closer to its first anniversary in September, Estep is looking forward to more growth.
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