News

 

EnTrust wins $150,000 grant for transitional housing in Ellensburg

Kittitas County commissioners announce the awarding of a grant to EnTrust Community Services for partially funding of what is called the Rapid Intervention Emergency Transitional Housing in the Ellensburg area. Read more in this Daily Record article

Project Search - January Newsletter

Read about the current status of Project Search, now in its third year. Enjoy the success stories from Heather Rew, Michael Hamilton and Justin Jones!

Download the brochure [ 188 KB]

Disability Mentoring Day, October 21

Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) began in 1999 as a White House initiative to increase the national profile of Disability Employment Awareness Month.

DMD has now grown into an extensive international endeavor that promotes career development for students and job seekers with disabilities. Partnering companies, both large and small, offer hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring that can lead to internships or employment opportunities. Each year, DMD connects nearly 20,000 job seekers with disabilities with thousands of employers in more than 300 locations in the United States and in more than 20 nations worldwide.

Download the brochure [ 3.25 MB]

Susan Kautzman appointed by Governor Gregoire to represent Community Rehabilitation Programs on the Washington State Rehabilitation Council

OLYMPIA—The members and staff of the Washington State Rehabilitation Council (WSRC) are pleased to announce that Governor Gregoire has appointed five new members, and reappointed two continuing members to our Council. The WSRC is a policy partner to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Our partnership was established by the Rehabilitation Act to: contribute to the development of the DVR’s State Plan and tracking its implementation; analyze program and performance data to assess the DVR’s performance on federal standards and indicators; and, partner with DVR in performing a needs assessment and surveys of customer satisfaction. The Council is fortunate to have a uniquely dynamic, varied, and capable group of incoming leaders.

 Here is a bit of background about the experiences that inform the service of our newest members. Valerie Arnold, of Elma has been appointed to represent the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) on the WSRC. Ms. Arnold has a professional background in early childhood education. She has represented OSPI on several stakeholder groups and is enthusiastic to take on this new area of responsibility. Vickie Foster, of North Seattle, has been appointed to represent current or former customers of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Ms. Foster is a seasoned systems advocate who is good at considering a range of perspectives. She has advocated regarding long-term care policy, services available through the Division of Developmental Disabilities, statewide transportation policy, and on behalf of residents the Seattle Housing Authority. Michael Hudson, of Bellingham, has been appointed to represent Business and Industry on the WSRC. Mr. Hudson, who has owned and operated a small business, now works for the non-profit arm of the Association for Washington Business, the AWB Institute. The AWB Institute focuses on developing high quality employees for Washington State businesses. Mr. Hudson’s commitment to workforce development and relationships with employers across the state will advance the pursuit of the Council mission. Vanessa Lewis, of Tacoma has been appointed to represent our state’s Parent Training and Advocacy Coordinating Center, Washington PAVE. Ms. Lewis helps students with disabilities and their families to secure the resources they need to succeed within the school system. Ms. Lewis has a particular interest in supporting underserved families to secure services. Susan Kautzman, of Grandview, works for a Yakima-based Community Rehabilitation Program EnTrust Community Services (formerly Provident Horizon Group) in quality assurance. She has been appointed to represent Community Rehabilitation Programs on the WSRC. Ms. Kautzman brings thirty years experience assisting people with disabilities in Washington and Alaska to go to work.

Governor Gregoire also reappointed two Council members; Jeff Abe-Gunter and Martin McCallum to serve an additional term. Mr. Abe-Gunter and Mr. McCallum have already respectively given approximately 6,250 hours of volunteer service to the WSRC since 2004. Their willingness to give more of their time is a testament to the spirit of volunteerism. Jeff Abe-Gunter, of Spokane, has been reappointed to continue representing Labor on the WSRC. He is a Case Resource Manager for the Division of Developmental Disabilities and is a Shop Steward for the Washington State Employees Union. Jeff is the Chair of the WSRC’s subcommittee on Customer Satisfaction and Program Evaluation. Under his leadership the committee collaborated with DVR to conduct a needs assessment. Jeff has been a strong advocate for community-based services and employment for people with psychiatric disabilities. His leadership on those issues has been recognized statewide. Martin McCallum, of Olympia, has been reappointed to continue representing the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board where he works as a Policy Analyst. Mr. McCallum who was the WSRC Chair from 2007-2008 brings more than thirty years of experience in workforce development.

Our newest members will attend their first quarterly Council meeting on October 22-23 in Spokane where they will participate in orientation activities. New and reappointed members will serve through September 2012. When the WSRC has all positions filled there are sixteen members. During this recruitment cycle we were seeking appointments or reappointments for eight positions. The Governor acted on seven appointments and opted to leave one position (reserved for a current or former customer of DVR) vacant to reduce costs. The WSRC appreciates the appointments we received. The Executive Committee looks forward to working with the Governor’s office to resolve the remaining vacancy.

For more information contact:
Joelle Brouner
Washington State Rehabilitation Council
Executive Director
1-866-252-2939 Toll free
360-725-3690 direct
360-407-3899 fax

United Way Day of Caring - Volunteers go all out for their community

Our Yakima Office was the recipient of some very generous giving on the United Way Day of Caring event on September 6, 2009.

The Day of Caring is an event to mobilize local businesses and community volunteers to provide direct assistance to agencies and to increase awareness of United Way and the programs that are funded. In addition the Day of Caring event serves as the Kick-off for United Way’s annual community fund drive.

This year several businesses joined together to plant 13 beautiful trees to landscape the Yakima campus.

• AmericanWest Bank donated their time and labor
• Central Premix donated river rock
• Marq Packaging donated a back hoe

The AmericanWest Bank volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty that day. After hours of raking bark and digging holes for 13 trees (on an extremely warm day), we realized that the final task of distributing river rock over the planting beds was a bigger job than anticipated. After working with the river rock for about ½ hour, sweating and straining, it looked impossible to complete that day. Feeling that it was too much to ask of volunteers, we told the AmericanWest team that they did not have to stay to distribute the river rock. However, they would not give up and insisted they would not leave until this job was done. Jake Hardy and Matt Duffy contacted Trent Marquis of Marq Packaging and within ½ hour a back hoe arrived! Without this equipment, their hard labor and dedication, we would not have finished this project. To all of our Day of Caring supporters: Your generosity is a clear demonstration that you care about your community and that you support our efforts to help people with disabilities have a better quality of life. We will think of the AmericanWest team, Marq Packaging, Helliesen Lumber and Central Premix as we watch our trees grow and add beauty to our campus. Thank You!

A huge Thank You to workers Trista Cookson, Rick Glenn, Ginger Henderson Jake Hardy, Matt Duffy, and Patti Siron, of AmericaWest Bank! We couldn’t have done it without you.

Ellensburg Students are good neighbors

A story from Carole Miller-Rhodes, Project Coordinator, Ellensburg Office:

I just wanted to share with you something exciting that happened yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, some of the elderly residents at Trinal Manor, where my classroom is located, mentioned that they had seen “big strapping boys” coming and going from my classroom. They wondered if any of them would like to pull some weeds in their flower beds, something that had gotten physically difficult for them to do. Of course, they said they would be willing to pay them, but not only is this a low income residence, this is our classroom home, so perhaps we could take some ownership. I had talked to the class about the importance of civic engagement, volunteer service and how it can be used on a résumé to show good use of free time and gaps in work history, etc. When I approached them, they were all willing to help.

So, yesterday I brought tools, gloves and got the little ladies to come and “supervise” by sitting in lawn chairs and pointing out areas they needed cleaned up. We cleaned up the whole long flower bed. I was so proud of my students for not only the way they worked, but how they interacted and treated the ladies. I believe everyone left with big smiles knowing they had done something good for others and certainly something the ladies could have not done for themselves.

I have the best job in the world!!! Please note the pictures of the work crew and grateful recipients.Carole

Creative Health Options offering adult day health services

click here for more information

2009 Program Calendar for Upskills Trainees

Download the calendar

 

Serving Yakima, Ellensburg, Sunnyside, Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and Walla Walla

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