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New Cheshire bookstore offers work skills for people with developmental disabilities

New Haven Register - 11/8/2020

Nov. 8--CHESHIRE -- A used bookstore that opened at the Watch Factory Shoppes retail complex this weekend comes with a unique mission.

ReRead Books will provide individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities entry level job training, said Hope Reinhard, executive director of the Connecticut Community Empowerment Foundation, which is responsible for launching the business. The store is opening on the lower level of the Watch Factory complex in a space that had been operated by a day care center.

Reinhard said she got the idea for the business after working for the town's public school system helping those with developmental needs to find work.

State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, R-89, whose district includes portions of Bethany, Cheshire, and all of Prospect, whose said finding jobs for people with developmental disabilities is difficult at best. Zupkus is the state director for Best Buddies, a nonprofit group that serves about 3,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"They need for business people to recognize that they want the same thing that everyone else wants, to feel useful and to interact with other people," Zupkus said. "A new business like this is really a win-win for everybody."

The new store has six individuals with disabilities working at the store. Bobby Anthony is one of the new store's employees.

"It's nice because we get to meet a lot of new faces," Anthony said.

Bill Costello, a board member of Connecticut Community Empowerment Foundation, said the onset of the pandemic hit hard in the special needs community.

"My daughter Andrea was working at Quinnipiac (University) and she lost her job," Costello said.

The goal of the new business is less focused on making a profit and aimed more at raising awareness about the value of hiring workers with disabilities, he said.

"We view the foundation as primarily an equity investment for the special needs community," Costello said.

James Hexter of North Haven, president of the foundation, said he was hopeful the store will be a success.

"There's not a lot of used bookstores in the area," he said. "And people are more likely to support a business when they know it is supporting people with disabilities."

Beyond providing employment, Reinhard said the goal is to have the store become a center for community-focused activities such as open-mic nights and lectures.

The opening day of business at ReRead Books Friday brought out Rachel Vassas and her children Dalila Rae and Kyle.

"We've been following it on Instagram and the kids have been dying to come here," Rachel Vassas said. "They are big readers."

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com

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