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(eee BeBe PHOTOS BY MARYANN FLEMING YES, Terry Vos hires people with developmental disabilities — but NO, he doesn't think of it that way... For the past seven years, Terry and his wife Christine have owned and operated Vos’ Independent Grocer in Port Perry. But Terry says he has been hiring “people with employment barriers” for over 20 years, during his corporate store career. ‘Terry recalls that, years ago, he used to debate the idea of alternate hiring practices with his wife Christine, who works as the Operational Manager for Community Living for Oshawa-Clarington. “Then one day,” Terry said, “The light bulb went off.” For many years now, he has recruited employees from Community Living and other agencies, “with great success — and less headaches than hiring some other people.” 18 FOCUS - JULY 2015 He thinks of it as hiring employees who are “honest, hard-working and loyal, and who do their jobs extremely well.” Sometimes, high school students are placed at his store for co-op programs, which can lead to part-time or full-time employment in the future, he pointed out. There are other employers in Port Perry who hire people with barriers to employment as well, Terry noted, and he would encourage all businesses to offer opportunities to a broad range of individuals. He advocates adopting the attitude of “hiring great employers, not people with disabilities.” {t’s getting much better,” he has observed. And some castes will shop at a store because they like the fact that the employer provides job opportunities to people who some employers may overlook. When you hire someone with an intellectual disability,