Bitty and Beau's Coffee, Ann Arbor
An Article in Disability Scoop, “Coffee Shop Hires Workers With Disabilities. Why Do Some Say That’s Bad News?” by Morgan Hughes, from 10/10/23 caught my eye for several reasons. One is that there has been a campaign for years by disability rights advocates to oppose and eliminate congregate settings for people with I/DD that provide services or residential programs in groups of more than 3 or 4 individuals. That includes opposition to congregate work programs, group homes, day programs, specialized school programs, larger residential settings such as Intermediate Care Facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, family-initiated residential communities, and anything else that advocates may construe as "too institutional”.
Many of the objections by disability rights advocates have been related to the use of federal or state funds paying for such programs. In the case of Bitty and Beau’s Coffee in Columbia, South Carolina, however, advocates have targeted a private business that receives no government funds and pays at least minimum wage to its employees. (It does not participate in the federal 14(c) waiver program.)
Bitty and Beau’s is a chain of 19 coffee shops in 11 states. The company employs more than 400 people, most of whom have disabilities.This includes a coffee business on South Main Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it is part of a bustling business district in a university town. I have not visited the Ann Arbor shop, but by all accounts, the employees, their families, and the community at large enthusiastically support the presence of this unique business.
Objections to the coffee shop in South Carolina, come primarily from Able South Carolina, (AbleSC), an organization “… established under the Rehabilitation Act to be run and operated by people with disabilities as a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated Center for Independent Living.” The organization received over 3.5 million dollars in government grants in 2021.
According to the article in Disability Scoop, local disability rights advocates say Bitty and Beau’s creates an environment where inspiration is the goal.
Kimberly Tissot, the CEO of AbleSC, “‘worried that employees with disabilities would be used like props, meant to offer customers smiles and hugs but not to be taken seriously as people…’ Businesses that employ only people with disabilities have also been known to pay below minimum wage because of a federal waiver that allows it, other disability rights advocates said.”...
“But critics say even if employees are earning a fair income, the store sends the wrong message to people without disabilities.
“‘It kind of plays off the heartstrings to get people to open their wallets,’ said Crush Rush, a local disability rights advocate and AbleSC board member." He calIs it crudely, "inspiration porn."
…“Despite the data, Tissot sees the business and those like it as counterproductive because she said the business segregates people with disabilities. She said that segregation can lead typically-developing people to think people with disabilities can only succeed in those environments. Tissot has a physical disability and a 13-year-old son with an intellectual disability.”
Integrated employment for thee, but not for me?
The law (Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act establishing CILs) mandates that the majority of the CIL staff and individuals in decision making positions, including the governing board, must be individuals with disabilities.
In other words, one could say that workers at AbleSC are employed in a congregate setting and serve primarily others with disabilities.
I see nothing inherently nefarious nor improper about Centers for Independent Living, but a little bit of self-reflection by the CIL disabled employees might temper the criticism coming from these organizations. Is it only when they are talking about people with intellectual disabilities that such congregate work arrangements are considered abhorrent? The hypocrisy is clear when one disability group attacks another on the basis of principles that they themselves do not follow.
“Nothing About Us, Without Us” except when “Us” doesn’t include you
Nothing in the Disability Scoop article indicates that representatives of AbleSC asked the employees of Bitty and Beau’s in Columbia, South Carolina, how they felt about their jobs and their place in the community. I think most of the workers in these businesses are able to communicate and if they are not, then why not ask their families how they respond to the work and whether they find satisfaction in what they do?
I agree with Amy Wright, one of the owners of the company, who says “I really wish those same disability advocates would take that frustration they are feeling and direct it toward other businesses in Columbia that don’t hire anyone with a disability.”
And for those who say they will boycott the business, that’s fine. That will make everyone’s life easier.
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More information on CILs from the Administration on Community Living...
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