Supported living is also commonly found with heavy rules similar to sheltered workshops, schools, etc
Supported living is also commonly found with heavy rules similar to sheltered workshops, schools, etc. Supported living is an opportunity where usually older children and adults can live together with others who have ADA/similar disabilities. There is a support staff, usually some form of counseling/life coaching, and structured activities. have you ever run across this? Right now there are problems with foster parents and foster homes in the news. This is a similar situation to a group home, just run under a different name.
did you know that supported living goes on around us here in Las Vegsas? I am not talking about shelters for women and children or the abused, I”m talking about sheltered living for those with disabilities.. Various organizations run these home, lease out bed space (paid for by Social Security disability income), hire workers to be there 24/7, and even provide entertainment and recreational opportunities. this is quite something when you think about it. years ago persons with disabilities were living in institutions – behind big walls, away from the public regardless of skill level. This is quite a change…. there are some folks who have severe profound disaiblities that require institutional living sa they can’t even get out of bed on their own. It must really take some courage for parents to send their grown children out to places like this….
job coachingjob coaching is a tactic I had never heard of, then a year after I was married my hsuband started a job with Opportunity Village. We were Psych majors and so they pulled him into a job helping the more advanced clients transition into the workplace outside the workshop. This was my intro to it…. At that time he helped clients land jobbs at hotels, fast food,, assembly plants, and many other similar situations. The IRS gave tax breaks for salary paid to these workers as an incentive for employers to give them a shot… A couple of the biggst clients my husband helped were Berry Plastics in henderson – had a crew of about 20 people assembling buckets and other plastic items. Also, Carriage House and another hotel that have since changed names each had ;janitorial and housekeeping crews. If you are at West Charleston during the right time of the day you’ll see clients from OV doing such work here at CSN. The idea is a lot like mainstreaming – giving cleints a chance in the workplace even though they’re slower so they can have a normal life and maybe become even more independent. The problem with sheltered workshop employment is that they are paid minimal wage – because the work just isn’t usualy up to the level expected of someone working a similar job… the federal government allows this so there is some gainful activities for these folks.
‘Job coaches travel with clients to help them get jobs, train on the job, learn how to get back and forth from home, and any other tasks required for success. Again one of the main problems is that organizations like OV that can hire job coaches don’t make profit so they don’t have top wages to keep goo job coaches around. So they switch frequently.
What do you think of this? What type of jobs do you think would help someone with disaiblities? How about children with disabilities? How can we prep them for some level of work – either in the workshop or out in business?
