A $2.5 million grant to Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston will fund a groundbreaking program that places young adults with disabilities in jobs.
The Ruderman Family Foundation provided the grant to fund the “Young Adult Transitions to Work” program, which provides young adults with disabilities customized training, placement and ongoing support services, representing a new approach to providing work for the disabled.
The program will be run by Jewish Vocational Services as part of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ “Pathways” program for people with disabilities.
Young Adult Transitions to Work is part of a pilot project with Hebrew SeniorLife to identify jobs and develop customized training and support that match those positions. It also combines comprehensive training to fully integrate life, work readiness and vocational skills, and ongoing case management once individuals have been placed in jobs.
Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. called the program “a testament to what partnerships between the private sector, non-profit world and advocacy community can achieve, and a real breakthrough for the disability community.” He said there are some 25,000 disabled young adults between in the ages of 18 and 30 in Boston’s Jewish community who are capable of working in the proper jobs.
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