Army of Angels

People with developmental disabilities experience significnatly less opportunity in the workforce than their non-disabled peers. Austin, a young adult with a developmental disability, has accomplished a significant feat that unfortunately few of his peers can claim; he has found competitive employment in an integrated setting. However, just finding employment was not enough for Austin. He came to Albertina Kerr last year because he was unhappy in his job as a bottle room clerk at a local grocery store and looking for a new employment opportunities.

Austin decided to take a leap of faith by beginning Kerr’s Project SEARCH program, a brand new internship program in the state of Oregon for young adults with developmental disabilities. Project SEARCH teaches real-life job skills through a partnership at host businesses. The goal for Project SEARCH is employment at the host business or another business using the skills gained from the progam. Austin’s internship site was the Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Before attending Project SEARCH, Austin’s ideal job was working in a kitchen setting. To help gain the required skills needed for this position, the Project SEARCH team placed him in the kitchen at Kaiser for one of his rotations. In this role, he learned how to do dishes, put together orders for patients, bus tables and cashier. He gained significnat experience and skills for the position of his dreams.

After Austin graduated from Project SEARCH, he began applying for jobs with the assistance of one of Albertina Kerr’s Job Developers. Austin identified an open position for a dishwashing position at Bon Appetite, the cafeteria located on the Intel Campus in Hillsboro. He applied, interviewed and was hired full-time. While working at Intel, Austin has been paired with a job coach who initially needed to help Austin with job coaching for every shift. As Austin advanced  in his skills in the kitchen, he began his journey of being independent and the job coaching slowly faded.

After working at Intel for approximately five months, Austin decided he wanted to be completely independent and no longer long term coaching supports. While this transition is still in process, it is our hope and wish for Austin that he becomes completely independent. Job coaches close to Austin has expressed their joy to witness Austin’s growth and to see the person and employee he has become with the help of the Project SEARCH program.

Albertina Kerr is currently offering Project SEARCH in two locations in the Portland metro area with expectations for the program to grow in the future. Albertina Kerr’s Project SEARCH program challenges the norm in our society to create a society that has no barriers for people with developmental disabilities.

More information about Project SEARCH and other Albertina Kerr Employment Services can be found at: http://albertinakerr.org/DevelopmentalDisability/EmploymentServices.