SOMA Living October 2021

SUPPORTING EMPLOYMENT FOR ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

How can interested employers help? Consider opening the doors to your businesses to clients for job opportunities, trainings, or walk-throughs. The experience and opportunity are of great value. The WREE department provides clients with a number of services and support. As part of their Pre-Vocational services, clients who are not currently employed can learn job skills by engaging in one of JESPY’s Community Activity Sites. Through Job Placement, clients are paired with a WREE Job Coach who helps them become knowledgeable about employment opportunities and seeking a job that matches their area of interest. Once employment is gained, clients receive personalized Job Coaching that provides support as they transition into the workforce as well as while they are employed. For additional information about WREE services or to become an employer partner, please contact 973-762 6909, ext. 208 or email Lisa Fiore at lfiore@jespy.org. JESPY supports clients with I/DD who are age 18-73 in the areas of clinical & behavioral health, athletics & fitness, residential options, recreation, activities of daily living, and employment. Log on to jespy.org to learn more.

In addition to developing and enhancing the job readiness skills of clients, JESPY’s Work Readiness and Employment Engagement (WREE) department continues to build employer partnerships and highlight existing relationships. As JESPY recognizes National Disability Employment Awareness Month this October, the value of inclusion in the workforce of clients with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) remains at the forefront of client support. During the pandemic, clients worked and continue to work in a variety of jobs at companies in Essex, Union, Somerset, Morris, and Hudson counties. A number of employers maintained employment for JESPY clients, rehired employees who were furloughed and offered new job opportunities over the past year. Some of the positions include mailroom clerk, machine operator, office worker, cashier, stock clerk, food service worker and customer service. Employers such as Stop and Shop, Whole Foods, Turtle Back Zoo, Prudential, Wal-Mart, East Orange VA Medical Center Administration, Bed Bath and Beyond, Panera, and The UPS Store, supported JESPY clients’ goals of employment, independence, and the ability to earn a living.

OCTOBER 2021 | SOMA LIVING 9

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