A cafe in Headingley that employs young adults with Down Syndrome is urging companies across Leeds to consider offering more jobs to people with disabilities.
21 Co. was established by Leeds Down Syndrome charity Sunshine & Smiles in 2019 and pays all its employees the National Living Wage.
Staff at the busy cafe are trained as baristas and work alongside other employees, who give them advice and support.
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"We’ve now got 10 young people who work with us and we’re open five days a week, which is fantastic" said service manager Ailith Harley-Roberts.
"We wanted to make sure that everybody worked here on an equal basis and that everybody was part of the team. Everybody in the team gets paid National Living Wage for their age.
"When we think about equality, it just feels right that people should be treated in the same way when they’re coming into a workplace and doing a job."
Lauren Austin, 22, is one of 10 employees at 21 Co. with Down Syndrome. She works two days a week serving customers and making coffees.
"I just need a bit more support, [but] I'm confident at making coffees and serving customers," she said.
"I've learned skills like using a till, cleaning tables and vacuuming the carpets.
"I like making lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos and hot chocolates."
21 Co. has bounced back from the rocky period of the pandemic and is now seeing customers return in their droves, but the next step is to helps its employees move on and secure longer term employment elsewhere.
Ailith is determined to work alongside businesses in Leeds and ensure the current crop of 21 Co. staff members are able to work in other businesses too.
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"We’ve done food safety training and barista training and it’s really good that we’ve got those qualifications, but we want to make an employment pathway," she said.
"So when people come here they would come perhaps for a 12-month period. At the beginning of that 12-month period, we look at what skills young people have when they arrive, what they want to work on and develop. We can then create a portfolio that we can share with other employers to make sure there are other opportunities for people to move into.
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"It’s a big piece of work in terms of us setting up a pathway and capturing all of that information and evidencing what our young people are doing - things like building confidence and customer service - but then actually going out to other employers in the city and saying: 'This is what we do, but this is what you could do.'"
"We really want to start to make those connections, so that the 10 young people here can move into another role.
"And then as other young people from Sunshine & Smiles get older, they can come and work here and have that experience as well."
Sunshine & Smiles, the only dedicated Down Syndrome support network in Leeds, has also launched a fundraising project.
The charity is trying to raise £100,000 to transform an unloved building in Leeds into a thriving space that can be used by the entire community.
Ailith tackled an Ironman triathlon - the toughest race in the world - for her 50th birthday and raised thousands of pounds, but the charity still needs your support.
For more information or to donate, visit the Sunshine & Smiles website.
You can find 21 Co. at Unit 32, Headingley Central, Otley Rd, LS6 2UE. It is open from 9am to 2pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 9am to 4.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sunday.
For more information, visit their website.
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