SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) — The Douglas Center in north suburban Skokie is trying to give people with developmental and intellectual disabilities a chance to work.
CBS News Chicago recently stopped by and had a heart-to-heart with the people who make it possible.
“People with disabilities don’t have as many choices in life,” said Rifath Khan, founder, president and CEO of the Douglas Center. “They’re always being told what to do, where to live, who to live with. That kind of bothered me because I think as human beings we all have choices and I wanted to give them those choices so that they can have a life could lead like you and I.”
Khan and her son, Dr. Omar Khan, are the driving forces behind the Douglas Center, a nonprofit organization that offers day programs for people with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities.
The Douglas Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, a quarter of a century of hard work, all from the heart. The first challenge long ago was finding a location.
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“As soon as we said this is a program for people with disabilities, the answer was ‘no,’” Khan said. “Either the space was occupied, it’s not available at this time, it’s not available at this time. So it was very disappointing.”
But the owners of a small shop near Devon Avenue and Pulaski Road in Chicago said yes.
Khan added that there were two rooms and a garage, which is where the Douglas Center started in March 1999.
Now the center is a sprawling 40,000-square-foot space on Howard Street in Skokie.
They started with one customer and now serve more than 100 customers.
“We work with people of all different types of abilities,” says Dr Omar Khan, the centre’s director of health and wellbeing, administration and development. “There’s a lot of dignity in the work they do. There’s a lot of pride.”
There are several programs that offer opportunities, both downtown and beyond. “Art from the Heart” teaches students like Shannon how to create beautiful works that can be sold in the center’s gallery and at art shows.
Tracy is part of the work center program where participants learn skills such as packaging and assembly.
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The employment training program prepares participants for work in offices. And in the hospitality industry, the center works with local companies and even the federal government. Expert sewers use complicated industrial machinery to create food service uniforms for the U.S. Department of Defense.
“They are extremely proud of themselves,” said Rifath Khan. “They talk to everyone: ‘I can work on this machine and I know how to do this.’”
Rifath Khan learned at a young age that it is important to make people feel proud.
“My parents were both doctors,” she said. “I grew up in a family where they always served the community.”
But she said there is still a long way to go.
“There is now a huge taboo on people with disabilities,” says Khan. “These are people like you and me. I feel like we all have special needs. They just need a little more support, a little more encouragement.”
Dr. Khan said the Douglas Center sends a strong message: that hiring people with disabilities is good for employees. They can find dedicated workers in their community and give them the opportunity to showcase their many skills.
The center’s Art from the Heart art exhibit runs from Monday, October 21 through Friday, October 25 at 3445 Howard Street in Skokie.
For more information, visit TheDouglasCenter.org.
Joe Donlon
