Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois is officially launching a program to get neurodivergent young adults into stable jobs.
Program manager Austyn Harms says the Beyond Barriers program has been operating for almost three years, though it was officially revealed to the public just now. The program provides resources like job coaching, virtual reality training, mock interviews and job shadowing opportunities to neurodivergent individuals entering young adulthood.
Todd Baker is the chair of the Autism Spectrum Disorders Trust of Peoria County, an organization local Goodwill leadership says was pivotal in the development of the program.
“The trustees at the time identified that there’s a gap once folks with autism leave the school system,” said Baker. “The thought was: ‘we need to find a way to give them meaningful work and relevant life.’”
Trustees met with Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois CEO Don Johnson and the seeds of the Beyond Barriers program were planted.
“We, in our workforce programs, want to do what’s right for the community, to help get people employed,” said Johnson. “Bottom line, [if] you’re going to be successful in life, you've got to be employed.”
Harms says her team of eight client advocates and job coaches found placement in roles like warehouse work, gardening, and retail at hardware and grocery stores for their clients over the last three years. Roughly half of 85 clients involved in the program so far found a job that was a good fit.
“We’ve got clients that are still working the same job that they are placed in,” said Harms. “And then we also have clients that have had a few placements.”
Another important part of the program is building relationships with local businesses. Harms says clients may have to job shadow or work a few different roles before finding a good fit.
“When we are looking at job shadowing opportunities for clients, we’re not just considering that client, but we’re considering our partnership as well,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s a good fit for both parties. So that’s something that we take highly into consideration.”
Harms says prior to the official unveiling of the program, clients found Beyond Barriers mostly through word of mouth. Now, she’s excited to reach people through the Goodwill website, business cards and brochures with a full branding push.
Harms believes the opportunity offered by the program is valuable.
“A lot of our clients that come to us, they already have life goals for them,” she said. “They want to move out. They want to live independently. So those are all the conversations that we have, where we’re really sitting down and goal-setting with them.”
Harms also said the program steps in at an important time in their clients’ lives.
“As you’re transitioning out into adulthood, it’s very scary, let alone, maybe not having all of those employment skills already,” she said. “Something as simple as a handshake and making eye contact, we think is a small thing, is a very big thing to our clients.”
More information on the Beyond Barriers program is available here.
