PrintCommunity Foundation for Greater New Haven supports job training programs
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has awarded $15,000 in grant funding to Ability Beyond, a nonprofit health and human service agency, to close the unemployment gap among local young adults with disabilities who remain jobless three-to-five years after high school graduation.
“We are deeply grateful for the strategic generosity of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven as we address an area of high-need among young people who leave high school disproportionately unprepared to find work and gain independence,” said Jane Davis, president and CEO of Ability Beyond. “Together we will empower these men and women to fulfill their potential within their own lives, and through diverse contributions that enrich our communities.”
Ability Beyond will use grant funding to provide a 10-week job training program in Greater New Haven called Workforce Opportunities, which has generated strong pilot outcomes of competitive employment for young adults with a wide range of disabilities. Grant funding will also support a community workshop for the parents of high school students with disabilities, and outcome tracking to share best practices with other nonprofit service providers.
“It is tremendously gratifying to be able to support programs like Ability Beyond’s Workplace Opportunity that help differently-abled young adults become financially independent and create an inclusive culture in our community,” says Sarah Fabish, Vice President for Grants and Scholarships at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “We look forward to learning about program participant gains in access to opportunity, increases in feeling valued and the ability to contribute to our community’s success.”
Within the City of New Haven, 10 percent of people live with a disability, according to the 2014 American Community Survey. Slightly older ACS numbers, pooled across a two-year span, showed that about 205,940 New Haven County residents in the range of working ages (21-64) have a disability, and more than 50 percent are completely disengaged from the labor force.
