Program promotes self-respect for the intellectually disabled

Liu Shunli and Yang Xiao pose for a group photo with other store assistants at the bakery in Beijing. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Efforts expanded

To help more intellectually disabled people get jobs, the China Association of Persons with Intellectual Disability and their Relatives and other nonprofits are training more mentors and expanding the Supported Employment Program nationwide.

In 2014, the association began working with the International Labor Organization to train people with knowledge of psychology and social work as mentors for the intellectually disabled. "So far, about 400 are in place, and the number is expected to exceed 2,500 by 2020," Zhang Baolin said.

Feng, Lizhi's director, said the organization has been recruiting and training mentors since it was founded in 2000, and has expanded the program to five provinces, including Hunan, Shaanxi and Qinghai. About 90 people with intellectual disabilities have gained jobs with the help of their mentors. "We plan to expand the program," she said, adding that there's still room for development of the Supported Employment Program.

"The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) is pressing for more employment mentors for the intellectually disabled, but it does not specify how to channel them to where they are most needed."