DFKDC's mentorship program that provides communication, leadership, and vocational skill building for young adults with developmental delays and/or physical disabilities in the DC area. The program concept derived from the need to provide DFKDC participants with resources to expand and grow after their time in DFKDC clinics. Over the course of 3 months, the program offers participants both skill-building workshops as well as site visits to places that employ people with disabilities.
Through monitoring and evaluation, we learned directly from guardians and parents about the difficult time young adults with disabilities have when transitioning to adulthood. From one conversation between a 21 year old DFKDC participant and a DFKDC Board Member in April 2016, we found that our elder participants rely heavily on their parents. YPTS is our answer to helping these young adults find personal, financial, and career independence from their parents.
Dreams For Kids DC's "Your Path to Success" program for young adults with disabilities is a ten week mentorship program that provides communication, leadership, and vocational skill building for these youth. Participants engage in skill-building workshops such as resume development, interviewing, and formal e-mail communication; group community service projects; site visits to places that employ those with disabilities; and opportunities to network with potential employers.
Long term Impact: Develop a trusted relationship between mentors and mentees and allow them to connect in a meaningful and positive way Increase communication skills of mentee (verbal, digital) Increase networking skills and social engagement of mentee Mentee learns about job opportunities and workplaces that could be a good fit for them To assist the participant in personal assessment of his/her abilities and support their transition academically, socially, and personally
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
