GUELPH – Students with intellectual disabilities will get a better chance of employment when they finish school now that the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has introduced a new program called Project SEARCH.
“We teach students how to work and teach the skills so they are desirable employees,” said Jennifer Way, program manager in the employment service division of the March of Dimes. “The success rate is incredible.”
Officials with the UGDSB, YMCA of Three Rivers and March of Dimes held a ceremony on Sept. 5 at the Guelph YMCA as six students received certificates and signed on to the program.
They will receive in-class instruction at the beginning and end of the day, but for four hours each day they will work at the Guelph Y as interns doing duties like cleaning, childcare, computer entries, “and any task that’s appropriate,” said Project SEARCH and UGDSB teacher Erin Leslie.
“They’ll be interns for one year, then they move on to the workplace.”
YMCA of Three Rivers CEO Mike Ennis said the program aligns with the mission and vision of the Y to be inclusive, diverse and accommodating to all.
“To meet the students and see the project in action is heartwarming,” he said.
“And this will have an unbelievable impact on our community. It’s an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.
“The students will teach us about accessibility, and from an inclusion perspective, this hits the mark.”
Project SEARCH began in 1996 when the director of nursing at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital realized many of the children with disabilities they cared for would never be able to hold a job or become independent.
She started a program to find them gainful employment in the hospital and the idea has taken off.
Project SEARCH is now at more than 700 sites in 11 countries. The UGDSB program is the 23rd in Ontario
The program is administered in Ontario by March of Dimes.
UGDSB director of education Peter Sovran noted the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is five times the national average, “and that’s truly an equity issue,” he said.
He noted the board’s action plan is to improve outcomes for all its students and this program “will definitely improve life outcomes for these students.”
“This bridges the school-to-work transition and gives them a chance at a better life,” added Way.
March of Dimes helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities find employment once they graduate high school.
Most jobs fall in hospitals, food services, warehouses, or as childcare assistants.
For more information, visit ugdsb.ca.
