Will’s Place Brings The Community Together

Niles West alum Will Schejbal is set to open his very own sandwich shop in May. The community has rallied together to support the Schejbal’s in their mission to open Will’s Place. Schejbal suffered from a stroke at birth that left him with neurological damage. This has caused it to be difficult for him to find jobs in the workforce. Currently, he goes to school at D219 Bridges School, however, he graduates soon. “William is 21 right now and at 22 years old, he ages out of all educational opportunities,” Joan Hallagan, Schejbal’s mom said.

Due to COVID, the students at Bridges have had fewer opportunities to participate in vocational work, which would’ve allowed them more experience to get hired for jobs.  Hallagan thought of Schejbal’s love for cooking when thinking of things for Schejbal to take part in after he graduates. This was when the idea for Will’s Place sprang to life. They came up with the idea in July. “We started looking around for spaces, and luckily our landlord has a son on the spectrum,” Hallagan said. The sandwich shop will be opening in the former location of Monkey Brains. Similar to Will’s Place, Monkey Brains mainly hired young adults with disabilities. Though it closed during the pandemic, it gave the workers crucial job experience that allowed them to get hired again elsewhere. 

Schejbal’s family has played an important role in helping Will’s Place come to life. “My sister is retiring, and she said that she would love to be involved in something like that; where we can make a place for young adults with disabilities to have an opportunity to work,” Hallagan said.

Another positive aspect of this sandwich store would be setting an example for kids with disabilities. “A lot of people with young kids with disabilities don’t get to see anyone like themselves working in different fields where they can see themselves growing up and working,” Hallagan said. With this, comes many more ideas. “Our long-term goal is to have 15-30 adults with disabilities working there part-time, and some managers there to help run the kitchens, but to work together side by side.” 

With the plan to open, the Schejbal’s were met with an overwhelming amount of support. They have held a few fundraisers, but the biggest one was the night of Jan. 18th at the Village Inn. “Orders started pouring in at 9 am. There were lots of people ordering from Niles West, a lot of teachers and departments. That’s middle-class people who don’t have the finances to give us a giant check but they still show up to support us. They will be the ones who will be our customers and that’s what’s so exciting,” Hallagan said. 

Ben Grais, a Niles West counselor, also attended the event. He has known the Schejbal family for years because his kids went to school with Schejbal. “Will was so happy when he was saying hello to everyone. He was just smiling and you could tell that he has a purpose,” Grais said. 

The owner of Village Inn, Desi Mulingbayan, was amazed by the amount of business that they received on the day of the fundraiser. “It’s normally one of the slower nights, but Will’s fundraiser was huge. It is one of the bigger fundraisers that we’ve been involved with. The community was able to raise 15 hundred dollars for them that night,” Mulingbayan said

This location will not just be used to make delicious sandwiches. “We will be closed at night and we plan on using Friday nights for young adults with special needs to come and watch a movie or have a pizza night. A lot of times people with disabilities feel isolated, so we are trying to use this place all we can to have social events,” Hallagan said. 

“I think it’s great for the whole community. Not just good for people with disabilities, but for everyone to work together, because everyone deserves a chance to get a job,” Hallagan said. 

Look out for Will’s Place when it open’s this spring. If you would like to donate you can do so on their website. They are looking to raise 100,000 dollars and are currently at 77,199 dollars.