SuperValu Is Doing Something Really Special For This Irish Town

SuperValu alongside local retailers Eugene and Catriona Scally has announced that it will launch an initiative to make this place, Ireland’s first ever Autism Friendly town.

The four month journey will see businesses, organisations and community groups undergo training and organisational changes to ensure they secure full Autism Friendly Accreditation.

In 2015, Scally’s SuperValu in Clonakilty, Cork was the first retailer in Ireland to implement changes in-store that would ensure that members of the Autism Community could enjoy a better shopping experience.

Fast forward three years, and a nationwide journey is underway with more than 100 SuperValu retailers taking the initiative to their own stores and communities.

Over the course of the next four months Adam Harris, founder of AsIAm, and his team will be working with the entire community to receive official Autism Friendly Accreditation.

To do this the town as a whole must commit to delivering:

Engagement and training 25% of businesses and voluntary organisations
Engagement and training of 50% of public services
Engagement and training of 50% of school communities
Engagement and training of 50% of healthcare professionals
Engagement of 3 employers
Reaching 25% of the town’s population

Speaking about the project, Catriona Scally, Scally’s SuperValu Clonakilty said:

"Following the overwhelmingly positive response we received from the Autism community in Clonakilty, Scally’s SuperValu knew that there was more we could do to help.

"While this is an ambitious undertaking, we have the best in the country guiding us coupled with a community spirit and determination that is hard to beat.’

Adam Harris, Founder of AsIAm said that the initiative was incredibly exciting and that it was great to see this project become a reality:

"The response has been overwhelming already and the energy in the town has blown us away. Through this initiative we are looking forward to mainstreaming autism and making big changes for the Autism Community."

Do you think more towns should follow suit? Let us know in the comments.