2021 Project SEARCH Information
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Kathy Riberdy
Special Education Instructor / Coordinator Email: kriberdy@litchfieldarc.org Phone: 860-482-9364, ext. 340 |
Graduation Celebration 12-22-2020
December 22, 2020 was the perfect day for a car parade to honor interns, Owen Reidy & Stephen Smith, on graduating from Project SEARCH. They successfully completed the program while learning employability skills, independent living skills & participated in internships at CHH. Executive Director of LARC, Michael Menard, and CHH VP, Brian Mattiello, presented diplomas, gifts & congratulations to Owen and Stephen. Enthusiastic well wishers drove by in decorated cars, honking & cheering. Stephen summed up the experience by saying “This was the best day of my life!” These interns are ready for employment!
November Update
Project SEARCH is back in person! In October, we resumed our program at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. After many months of on-line classroom instruction, interns, Stephen and Owen, are excited to get back to work in person. We are following COVID-19 safety protocol and getting screened daily with temperature checks and answering screening questions.
Stephen is interning in Podiatry and working on sanitizing rooms, escorting patients, providing wheelchair transport and re-stocking supplies. Owen is interning at Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Winsted Health Center. Owen is busy sanitizing exercise equipment, folding towels, organizing supplies and collating papers. Owen is also learning how to use a blood pressure cuff and apply heart rate monitors on patients. Our department mentors and staff at CHH are welcoming and appreciate all of our interns hard work.
LARC Executive Director, Michael Menard, visited for lunch and caught up with the team. Stephen and Owen presented slide shows to demonstrate the tasks they are learning in their new departments. Special Educator and PS Coordinator, Kathy Riberdy, is hoping to add two new interns in November. Best of luck to Project SEARCH!
Stephen is interning in Podiatry and working on sanitizing rooms, escorting patients, providing wheelchair transport and re-stocking supplies. Owen is interning at Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Winsted Health Center. Owen is busy sanitizing exercise equipment, folding towels, organizing supplies and collating papers. Owen is also learning how to use a blood pressure cuff and apply heart rate monitors on patients. Our department mentors and staff at CHH are welcoming and appreciate all of our interns hard work.
LARC Executive Director, Michael Menard, visited for lunch and caught up with the team. Stephen and Owen presented slide shows to demonstrate the tasks they are learning in their new departments. Special Educator and PS Coordinator, Kathy Riberdy, is hoping to add two new interns in November. Best of luck to Project SEARCH!
Family Hearing Day at the Capitol - 2/26/20
LARC’s Project Search Team was at the 7th Annual Arc Connecticut/IDD Caucus Family Hearing Day at the Capitol in Hartford on February 26. Thirty legislators attended the hearing which attracted over 200 people, 36 of whom shared personal experiences of the challenges facing individuals with I/DD or families caring for loved ones. Two of the Project Search program participants met Jordan Scheff, Commissioner of the Department of Developmental Services. “It was very powerful testimony,” noted Kathy Riberdy, Project Search coordinator and special educator. “This was a good experience for the team.”
LARC has been working with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to develop the model for this new program, which began this past fall. Project SEARCH provides classes in employability skills, independent living skills and internship experience to individuals with disabilities who are between the age of 18 to 35. LARC’s partner, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, is providing internships in various departments such as Cardiovascular Medicine and Nutritional Services.
The Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is collaborating with national Project SEARCH as part of its commitment to helping people with intellectual disabilities find, get and keep community-based, competitive wage jobs, a commitment LARC shares. In early 2018, LARC was chosen to be one of ten agencies nationwide to participate in the National ARC’s pilot grant program with Boston University’s Institute for Community Inclusion’s Provider Transition Network. The purpose of the program is to assist in the process of provider transformation towards competitive integrated employment. LARC’s goal is to educate staff on the processes needed to provide competitive integrated employment to individuals in the agency’s current group supported employment programs.
LARC has been working with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to develop the model for this new program, which began this past fall. Project SEARCH provides classes in employability skills, independent living skills and internship experience to individuals with disabilities who are between the age of 18 to 35. LARC’s partner, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, is providing internships in various departments such as Cardiovascular Medicine and Nutritional Services.
The Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is collaborating with national Project SEARCH as part of its commitment to helping people with intellectual disabilities find, get and keep community-based, competitive wage jobs, a commitment LARC shares. In early 2018, LARC was chosen to be one of ten agencies nationwide to participate in the National ARC’s pilot grant program with Boston University’s Institute for Community Inclusion’s Provider Transition Network. The purpose of the program is to assist in the process of provider transformation towards competitive integrated employment. LARC’s goal is to educate staff on the processes needed to provide competitive integrated employment to individuals in the agency’s current group supported employment programs.
LARC is pleased to announce that Project SEARCH is officially launched and off to a great start! LARC’s new program provides classes in employability skills, independent living skills and internship experience to individuals with disabilities who are between the age of 18 to 35. LARC has partnered with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to provide internships in various departments such as Cardiovascular Medicine and Nutritional Services. Our interns are learning many valuable employability skills already. Thank you to CHH for hosting this innovative and successful program!
During the past year, LARC has been working with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to develop a model for the new program, which began this past fall. The Project SEARCH program is designed to be a one-year program and is based on a school year. Participating individuals are working this year at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in internship positions with the goal of securing employment at the end of the year.
“This is an exciting opportunity for LARC,” according to Michael Menard, executive director at LARC. “The agency, with leadership from our vocational and day service director Tom Stanton, has been aggressively working to transform our Vocational program to align with changing requirements and community needs. Individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities are capable of working competitively and deserve to be paid a competitive wage,” Mr. Menard explained.
The Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is collaborating with national Project SEARCH as part of its commitment to helping people with intellectual disabilities find, get and keep community-based, competitive wage jobs, a commitment LARC shares. In early 2018, LARC was chosen to be one of ten agencies nationwide to participate in the National ARC’s pilot grant program with Boston University’s Institute for Community Inclusion’s Provider Transition Network. The purpose of the program is to assist in the process of provider transformation towards competitive integrated employment. LARC’s goal is to educate staff on the processes needed to provide competitive integrated employment to individuals in the agency’s current group supported employment programs.
During the past year, LARC has been working with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital to develop a model for the new program, which began this past fall. The Project SEARCH program is designed to be a one-year program and is based on a school year. Participating individuals are working this year at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in internship positions with the goal of securing employment at the end of the year.
“This is an exciting opportunity for LARC,” according to Michael Menard, executive director at LARC. “The agency, with leadership from our vocational and day service director Tom Stanton, has been aggressively working to transform our Vocational program to align with changing requirements and community needs. Individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities are capable of working competitively and deserve to be paid a competitive wage,” Mr. Menard explained.
The Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is collaborating with national Project SEARCH as part of its commitment to helping people with intellectual disabilities find, get and keep community-based, competitive wage jobs, a commitment LARC shares. In early 2018, LARC was chosen to be one of ten agencies nationwide to participate in the National ARC’s pilot grant program with Boston University’s Institute for Community Inclusion’s Provider Transition Network. The purpose of the program is to assist in the process of provider transformation towards competitive integrated employment. LARC’s goal is to educate staff on the processes needed to provide competitive integrated employment to individuals in the agency’s current group supported employment programs.
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