The Arc NCR Receives Funding from The Arc and Walmart Foundation to Continue Building Employment Program

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The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region (The Arc NCR) has received $12,000 from The Arc of the United States and the Walmart Foundation for its Supported Employment Training Program that helps to bridge the gap between the career world and workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), through The Arc@Work.

Research indicates that 85% of people with I/DD are currently unemployed. However, with the right supports, many individuals with I/DD can successfully build a career alongside their peers without disabilities. With the Walmart Foundation’s generous support in 2016 and 2017, The Arc and its chapters significantly increased the number of individuals with I/DD placed in community-based employment. Over this two-year span, the Walmart Foundation has supported The Arc@Work and chapters of The Arc located across the country in training more than 2,000 individuals and placing more than 800 individuals into competitive and community-based jobs.

The Supported Employment Training Program takes an average time of 6 months to 1 year to complete and trains supported individuals in soft skills, including professionalism, business etiquette and communications. Hard skills’ training is also provided on site at local businesses which has included learning opportunities in the hospitality, retail and nonprofit industries. There are more than 90 employers in more than 12 industries in Harford County; since its fruition in 2017, 12 people with differing abilities completed the program and found community-based employment.

“We are grateful to Walmart and The Arc US for providing us the opportunity to further our commitment to securing meaningful, community-based employment for individuals with differing abilities in Harford and Cecil Counties,” says Shawn Kros, CEO of The Arc NCR. “We look forward to making use of the grant funds to continue enhancing our Supported Employment Training Program.”

The Arc NCR is now supporting over 40 individuals per week in the training program; the goal is to find employment for at least half of them in FY19.

Editor’s Note: The Arc is not an acronym; always refer to us as The Arc, not The ARC and never ARC. The Arc should be considered as a title or a phrase.

 

About The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region
For sixty-five years, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region has empowered people with differing abilities to live, work and play in our community by providing support services and advocacy to adults and children and their families in Harford and Cecil Counties. For more information, call 410-836-7177 or visit www.arcncr.org.

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