Latest news with #ProjectSearch
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
How some students with disabilities avoid the 'transition cliff' after high school
For the past 10 months, Toronto student Danial Young rose at 6 a.m. on weekdays to attend a program vastly different from what he'd known, leaving friends and familiar teachers behind as he ventured into new spaces and was challenged to develop new skills. Yet on a sweltering day in late June, as the 20-year-old turned the page on high school, you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "It's been very important to learn here, because you're moving into the real world. You're now evolving into this whole different person," he said ahead of graduating from Project Search, a program that transitions young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities to the working world. "It's been a really great experience." As they move through secondary school, most teens are busy learning, training for and planning their futures. Yet students with disabilities have vastly fewer opportunities. A patchwork of programs helps some transition into adulthood, but experts want more of these offerings to be accessible to everyone who needs them. Leaving high school is "a time of big change and big decisions, but also it's potentially a time of crisis," said Eddie Bartnik, an international consultant advising the Nova Scotia government on disability services. Without a strong, dedicated program planning for life after graduation, youths with disabilities can lose the valuable relationships and social connections they've built during their schooling, he says. It can also leave families feeling adrift as, after school-related supports end, some young people languish at home. Sometimes "one parent has to give up work," Bartnik said, an option that is "very anxiety-provoking." Transition programs are generally considered a responsibility of schools, according to Rachelle Hole, a UBC Okanagan professor of social work and co-director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship. However, since they're not mandated by every province or territory's Ministry of Education, such efforts are often "left up to the individual school districts or perhaps inclusive education teachers," she said. Limited funding means some programs can only take on so many participants and, given what she calls "a patchwork approach" across regions, many families can face a "transition cliff" if they're unable to access aid to bridge the gap. Still, Hole praises the "pockets of excellence" across Canada, where different organizations, community groups and champions are successfully helping youth with disabilities tackle this milestone. 'The right mix of ingredients' Come September, eight new Project Search locations in Ontario will join the existing 22 across the province plus P.E.I. and Manitoba. The immersive model, followed by hundreds of branches worldwide, is designed to give participants enough time, space, clear instruction and support to build their technical and soft skills for workplaces, says Carolyn McDougall, the program's Ontario-Canada co-ordinator. Locations typically receive funding and support from participating businesses, school boards, disability organizations and charities, employment agencies, private donors and foundations. "Individuals with significant disabilities are capable of complex and systematic work when they have the right kind of components in their training," said McDougall, who's also manager of employment pathway programs at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. "You just need the right mix of ingredients." Young people with disabilities don't often get a chance at the experiential learning — co-ops, volunteering or part-time jobs, for instance — that their peers do. That means less direction after high school, says McDougall, but also "a heck of a lot less on your resumé and... so programs like this are so essential." For instance, Young — a fan of '90s-era Jim Carrey movies — says he's learned to rein in the jokes and be more professional at work. With practice, he's also learned to make eye contact, about the importance of body language and tips for talking to new people, as well as learning workplace hazards systems and how to complete paperwork. "I've learned how to be confident and really adapt… how to not rush a task that was given," he said. He's also tried jobs he never knew about, like being a hospital porter. "I didn't think working in a hospital would be an environment I could join." Project Search reports a nearly 68 per cent employment rate for graduates in Canada which, McDougall notes, is more than double the national employment rate (about 27 per cent) for individuals with a significant disability. Starting early Hole, the UBC professor, has developed a free, online, transition-planning program for school districts that's set to debut this fall. She says having transition programs in the final year of high school is helpful, but that evidence from the U.S. shows that starting earlier gets even better results. It's also vital for these programs to have co-ordinated funding from various ministries of the provincial and territorial governments, she says: education, but also health, labour, accessibility, social development and family services. That's "really key for the transition process to be experienced in a fluid kind of way." In September, Nova Scotia will kick off its School Leavers Program, connecting 100 students with disabilities with local specialists to develop post-graduation plans. It's part of a broader reform, following a landmark legal battle between the province and Nova Scotians with disabilities. The program includes flexible, individualized funding, which might go to hiring support for workplace training, enrolling in a special swim class or transportation for a particular community offering, says Scott Armstrong, Nova Scotia's minister of opportunities and social development. "We've taken the best practices we've seen in other places and put them into the program," he said. "We really think we're on the right track." Armstrong anticipates the second cohort will double to 200 students and the program could eventually begin earlier. "Fifteen years old is a good time to start planning," said the former school principal. Jordan O'Neal, a Project Search alumnus, returned for this year's graduation as a speaker. The program got him pondering the future: how to further his interest in computers, get his own place and be more independent. One achievement his mother, Brendora Paul, is especially proud of is the 22-year-old taking public transit solo when he'd previously only travelled by school bus or with his parents. "[Before] it was out of the question for him to travel alone," she said, whereas today he travels from home in the eastern suburb of Scarborough to his clothing retail job in downtown Toronto. "Now we're confident... he can get from point A to point B."
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mercyhealth provides interships for the disabled through ‘Project Search'
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Disabled high school students graduated from the 9-month 'Project Search' program on Friday. The program teaches disabled individuals the skills they need to enter the workforce. That includes internships with Mercyhealth, job development, and individual help with certain skills. The 'Project Search' program is a partnership between Mercyhealth, Rockford Public Schools, RAMP, and the Illinois Department of Human Services. 'It really is a life-changing opportunity for a lot of these young adults,' said classroom instructor Libby Wolfgram. 'They do have disabilities. We all know the job market is tough, and it's made even more difficult if you add on a disability. This program really does make all the difference.' Seven students graduated this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Project Search graduates 10
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – 10 young adults celebrated a milestone! The interns graduated from the Project Search Program. Facilitated by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Project Search gives young adults with disabilities hands-on internship opportunities with community businesses. Graduate Jacobn Johnson explains, 'My 1st rotation is Supply Chain Management. I stocked supply rooms in, like, the surgery center, ED, and also GI. And, I worked with my mentor Jonathon to restock everything in GI after it got flooded by a cut water pipe.' Mayo Clinic Talent Solutions Specialist Chelsey Steinbrecher added, 'It has been a proven workforce solution for us, truly. It's a grow-your-own, if you think about it, from start to finish of their program. We're building them up, we're training them, and at the end of the program, they're able to work.' Project Search started in 2008 and has helped over 2000 adults across the state of Wisconsin. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
El Paso hospital celebrates Project Search students
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso hospital celebrated its first class of students who made their way through a program designed to give them job skills and find employment. On Monday, June 2, the Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus celebrated its inaugural class of Project Search students with a graduation ceremony. This program provides opportunities for students with disabilities to learn job skills. The Sierra Campus is the fourth hospital within the The Hospitals of Providence network to have the program. At Sierra Campus, students started back in the fall. Throughout the school year, students are immersed in departments throughout the hospital and given the opportunity to learn new skills. Upon completion of the year-long program, many students will receive job offers within the hospital or in businesses throughout the community, The Hospitals of Providence said. 'We are truly proud to have welcomed this first cohort of Project Search students at the Sierra Campus this year and to have these incredible students as a part of our team – and to see them graduating today is remarkable,' said David Byrd, chief executive officer for The Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus. 'Each one of these students has made incredible contributions to our hospital and they've made us better as leaders – we are so proud of them and can't wait to see the phenomenal things they are going accomplish. 'Our goal is to help prepare these students to learn real-life skillsets and help them gain active employment,' Byrd continued. 'Truly, these students make a tremendous difference within our hospital and they teach us so much. Congratulations to each of these students and to their families.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Emplify Health by Gundersen provides job opportunities for high school students
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Emplify Health by Gundersen is celebrating the graduation of six interns from the Project Search class of 2025. Project Search is a yearlong employment preparation program designed for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. Project Search instructor, Laura Anderson, explains, 'Its intent is to teach work-based skills to help students prepare for the world of work. Also, to just be ready to get out there and land a job and have all of their skills in place to be a little more prepared than they would've been coming out of high school.' The program graduate Krystyn Lilla is a patient attendant in Emplify Health's rehab unit. She says being a part of the program helped prepare her for her role, 'I learned all through my different rotations the different job skills and how important those job skills are to work in the hospital. For the memories, making a bunch of new friends, all the great mentors that I had through the rotations, and getting this job.' Anderson says a big part of the program is job development and teaching students soft skills. 'We practice interviewing. We build resumes. We go out job seeking. We take them on the interviews. We support them in their interviews. We also do onboarding and job coaching once they graduate. We will support them for up to three months to make sure that they have a successful in the job also.' Many family members and Emplify staff are ready to see these students take their next steps on their life journey. 72 interns have completed the program since it began eight years ago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
