Every time Ombre e Luci takes up the question of "work" for our young people, I'm torn between two opposite feelings: one of utter discouragement, thinking of how little our country does, organizes, or even imagines for our children — I speak, of course, of those with intellectual disability (the situation is entirely different for those with physical or sensory disabilities). And then a powerful desire to see real attention and genuine commitment directed toward them, because otherwise they're cast into a life of passivity.
For fifty years now I've been immersed in the world of disability, working across the full spectrum, and I've become especially drawn to the idea of helping these young people live fully into their capacities. It's true that part of who they are may not suit intellectual work, and we have to do everything possible to avoid "deceiving" the young people themselves, their parents, their educators with dreams of computers, office jobs, secretarial roles.
Our young people need concrete things. I've traveled all across Europe and visited major work centers for them. I was struck by the quality and ingenuity of what these centers offer. And how crucial it is that their training begins when they're small. It's beautiful to see them genuinely enthusiastic about their work — real work, not something fake to please their parents.
The kinds of work that suit people with intellectual disabilities best might include things connected to nature — gardening, arranging fresh and dried flowers, tending vegetable gardens and selling the produce; animal husbandry; and in the craft sector, making various items, weaving (though difficult for some, incredibly satisfying); and also, as is already happening, food service, cleaning, and office support work.
The list could go on, and as I write and think, Laura comes to mind — among so many others I've known, she strikes me as a shining example of how her parents brought all their determination to find her "real work." After primary school and middle school, which were difficult years, Laura spent many years in unpaid internships. Then, through a targeted job competition, she was finally hired by the Municipality of Rome, where for the past fourteen years she's worked as an office assistant with real commitment. She leaves home every morning at 6:30 to carry letters and documents between offices, handle countless small tasks, and offer genuine help keeping the office running smoothly. Laura is always well-dressed, content, at peace; in her free time she's involved in two organizations, and she challenges her friends and peers to see what she can do.
Every time I see her, I ask myself: why is it so complicated for other young people like her to find meaningful work?
I wish there were someone looking out for every young person with intellectual difficulty, making sure they had work suited to them. I wish we never saw idle young people on the streets.
More and more, as you'll read in this issue, cooperatives and work centers are springing up. The era when people said "there's nothing we can do for them" is over. On the contrary, there's much to be done, and it's always more demanding to "put them to real work," making them happy in what they do and independent from parents who will one day need to leave them behind so they can finally enjoy some well-deserved rest.
Mariangela Bertolini, 2014