(October 20, 2023 – ROCHESTER, NY)— In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Jewish Senior Life is recognizing employees who are graduates of Project SEARCH® on social media. The Project SEARCH® program is a collaborative effort between Jewish Senior Life and Heritage Christian Services. NDEAM is held each October to commemorate the various contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workplaces and economy.
Project SEARCH® is a nationally recognized pre-employment program that provides individuals with the skills and experience needed to gain and maintain meaningful employment at Jewish Senior Life or elsewhere in the community. The nine-month program is hosted on-site at Jewish Senior Life, and is designed to support total workplace immersion with a combination of curriculum-based instruction and hands-on training through three different internship rotations.
“Since 2018, 32 interns have successfully completed the program,” says Christine Van Vessem, Vice President of Staff Development and Quality Management at Jewish Senior Life. She continues, “We have hired 16 interns for a variety of roles such as: Waitstaff, Environmental Service Technician, Dishwasher, Concierge Assistant, Medical Records Clerk, Laundry Technician, and Recreation Assistant. Highlighting our present employees who have completed the program has been empowering for them and inspiring for our current interns—as well as the rest of our team here at Jewish Senior Life.”
Each Wednesday throughout the month of October, a different employee is featured to highlight their experience with Project SEARCH® and working at Jewish Senior Life. Through the years, the Project SEARCH® collaboration has prompted Jewish Senior Life to make changes to the campus for improved accessibility, including additional sidewalk modifications and adjustments to the public bathrooms—specifically, lowering soap dispensers and adding a t-pull handle to more easily close the stall door.
