By LESLIE RENKEN of the Journal Star
In the nine years she's been teaching life skills to developmentally disabled young adults at East Peoria High School's Life Academy, Erika Ridge has had one goal that's proved painfully illusive - finding her students paying jobs in the community.
"What I would love from this article is to get five calls from businesses in the community interested in hiring my students," Ridge said while sitting in a classroom at the high school recently.
Ridge, who has a degree in special education, set up the Life Academy program nine years ago in an effort to give students with a variety of developmental disabilities the basic skills needed to function in the community after leaving school. They learn how to cook, clean and grocery shop. They spend extensive time in the community, doing activities that are both fun and educational. They even receive vocational training, but unfortunately, only a few of them find jobs. For Ridge, this has been a difficult reality she refuses to accept.
"I'll know this program is a success when I can go into this community five or 10 years from now and see my students are out in the community, engaging in activities that they love," she said. "When I see that individual in a job that they are being paid for and they like - that's what gives us quality of life, and it's no different for them."
In Illinois, students with disabilities are allowed to be in public school programs until they turn 22. After that they rely on a complicated system of publicly and privately-funded programs to cover their needs, from vocational training to finding a spot in a group home. To receive funding from the state, students must get onto the Illinois Priority and Urgency of Need list, or PUNS, said Ridge.
"That list is incredibly long," she said. "Students wait for years to obtain that funding. Because of this they go home and wait for the funding. They can't get into a group home or PARC."
Having worked with disabled people for her entire career, Ridge understands the limitations of the system. She's looking for another route for her students.
"We need to continue our conversation with the community about what we can give to each other that is valuable," she said. "I have some of the hardest working kids you'll find. They take pride in their work."
A valuable employee
Tito Wouimet, 21, bends over a trash can at Culver's restaurant in East Peoria, concentrating as he ties the garbage bag closed. Suddenly Ridge lets out a loud whoop and begins to applaud. Wouimet looks up from his perfect knot, beaming.
"Tying bags has been a struggle," Ridge explained later.
Wouimet has been training at Culver's once a week since September. Ridge hopes that one day their efforts will lead to a paying job.
The East Peoria restaurant knows the value of hiring people with developmental challenges - another East Peoria special education student began working there about three years ago. Natalie Curiel, 24, does the same job Wouimet has been training for. During the lunch rush hour five days a week she performs a variety of tasks to keep the dining area neat and the food orders flowing smoothly from kitchen to customer.
Each work day Curiel takes the bus to and from work. The job gives her life structure as well as a paycheck, but Curiel's favorite part is the people.
"I like the customers and the people and my bosses. They're all nice," she said after finishing her shift recently.
"She's a very social person," said Curiel's father, Javier Curiel. His daughter has met many people through her job, both employees and customers.
"We'll be at a gathering and someone will be smiling at her and I'll ask how he knows her and he'll say 'she brings me my chili,' " said Natalie Curiel's mother, Jane Counterman, who was instrumental in getting her daughter the job.
Natalie Curiel trained on the job for more than six months with a job coach from Community Workshop and Training Center. Since the learning curve is often steeper for people with developmental disabilities, job coaching is key to creating a valuable employee.
Ridge has been able to rearrange her schedule at the school to fit in the once-a-week training sessions with Wouimet at Culver's. On a recent Tuesday she and practicum student Morgan Newcomb used a visual training guide to help Wouimet remember all of the 13 tasks he is responsible for during his shift. When he finished one task, he referred to the guide with its little photos of each duty.
"He has trouble anticipating what needs to be done next," said Ridge. "The visual schedule helps."
Newcomb and Ridge recently came up with the idea of the visual schedule. Because the abilities of her students vary wildly, Ridge is quite skilled at coming up with innovative ways to teach each individual.
"I have another student who loves to write. He's an excellent reader. I could just write out the list for him," she said. "He'd probably cross things off as he got them done. That's just the way he is."
Once an employee is trained, however, he or she can become a loyal, long-time asset to the business, Javier Curiel said.
"Some jobs that people might say 'that's beneath me,' someone with special needs would do proudly," he said. His wife said that Natalie Curiel is very proud of her job.
"She loves Culver's," she said.
Job coaches wanted
Doris Hayes, vice president of education services for PARC, believes special needs adults have a lot to offer in the workplace.
"Research shows that people with disabilities tend to have better attendance, are more punctual, and show more excitement about going to work than someone without a disability," she said. Yet only about 15 percent of disabled adults are employed in their communities, Hayes said.
She wants to change that. Hayes is waiting to get approval on a grant through the State of Illinois that will form a partnership between two high-school based special education programs, PARC and several area businesses in an effort to get more disabled adults into jobs.
"It's called the HIRE grant - Help Illinois Rethink Employment," she said.
Through the grant, students from East Peoria and Richwoods High School will receive job training at the PARC facility in north Peoria. Once they've mastered a few basic skills they'll begin on-the-job training with one-on-one assistance from job coaches at three local businesses - AmericInn, Advanced Medical Transport, and Peoria Production Shop.
Students from East Peoria Life Academy already do vocational training at PARC once a week, but the HIRE grant will expand that program and allow for the hiring of job coaches for on-site training, which is key, Hayes said.
"There's only so much a teacher can do in the classroom," she said. While Ridge was able to carve a little time out of her teaching schedule to job coach Wioumet at Culvers, she can't do that for all her students.
"The teachers we work with do an amazing job with the resources they have. That's why I think this partnership is going to be really good," said Hayes.
If the grant is approved, she hopes to have the program up and running when students return to class in August.
"It will help bridge the gap in transitioning students from the school environment into the work force," said Hayes. "It will also expose businesses to people with disabilities, showing them that they do have value, that they do have employable skills."
A valuable contributor
At the East Peoria Culver's, assistant manager Ruth Burnette had nothing but praise for Natalie Curiel.
"Oh, she's a sweetie," Burnette said as Curiel, on hands and knees, picked up French fries and other garbage from beneath a nearby table. "She loves her job. She's really dedicated. We're proud of her."
Having a paying job has allowed Curiel to contribute to her own needs, said her father. "She paid for her own computer printer and everything."
He believes that putting special needs people to work is also a positive thing for the community at large. Ultimately they cost the system less as they contribute to society through their work and by paying taxes.
While Counterman and Curiel at first had qualms about sending their daughter out into the work-world where they would not be able to protect her from people who might not understand her disability, they say the employees at Culver's have been very good to Natalie. But the fact that she is a good worker came as no surprise, since she is an eager contributor in her own home.
"We have four kids, and she's the best," said Curiel's mother. "She knows how to do the dishes, she vacuums, she dusts. Everybody needs a Natalie."
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Prospective employers interested in more information about hiring adults with special needs can call East Peoria High School Life Academy teacher Erika Ridge at 698-7508 or Doris Hayes, vice president of education services at PARC at 691-3800.
Leslie Renken can be reached at 686-3250 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @LeslieRenken.
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# http://www.pjstar.com/news/x677627759/Life-Academy-prepares-disabled-young-adults-for-life-after-school
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