Berks County, Pa. – Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP™) Berks County, Pa. has placed 15 youth who have disabilities or face other employment barriers with summer jobs thanks to a partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) My Work. In its fourth year, the program has expanded to provide employment experiences to 280 program participants with almost 80 employers, including a growing number of nonprofits.

“I really think it’s important because this program gives people in our community a chance to get out there and learn a job skill that can be so beneficial to them in so many ways,” said YAP Berks County Program Director Amy Schermerhorn. “To me it feels like we’re giving back to the community because we’re working with other nonprofits in a positive way.”

YAP Berks County, Pa. program participants are working at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club of Reading & Berks County, the Hope Rescue Mission and the LGBT Center of Greater Reading. The summer employment program was created by OVR to provide high school students with disabilities the opportunity to work at jobs in their communities. The goal is to provide participants with skills that set them up for success in the job market following graduation.

Founded in Harrisburg in 1975, YAP is a leading nonprofit provider of services that reduce the nation’s overreliance on youth incarceration and residential care. Program participants who receive YAP’s services come to the agency through partnerships with youth justice, child welfare, developmental disabilities, education, and other public systems. In 35 states and Washington, D.C., YAP empowers youth by helping them see their strengths and connecting them and their families with individualized tools to meet their economic, educational, and emotional goals.

Recent high school graduate and YAP Berks County, Pa. program participant MaKayla, who stutters when she is anxious, is working as a camp counselor at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club. She assists youth with activities such as boat riding, canoeing, and art; among other things.

“I enjoy hanging with the kids, learning new things about them and being there,” the 18 year-old said. “They enjoy me being around them too.”

YAP Employment Specialist Lenny Stinson is also at the Olivet Boys and Girls site with program participants and says they are all learning how to socialize and shake off any fears they may have of being in a work environment.

“They all have potential and I believe in their potential,” he said. “With their developmental disabilities, they have challenges communicating with their peers, but while here they are being more open. I think they will be able to overcome their challenges.”

Stinson works with MaKayla and three other YAP program participants at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club.

“(MaKayla) is really outgoing and is doing well,” Stinson added.

In addition to placing students ages 16 through 21 with disabilities in summer jobs across the state, the program allows YAP to connect participating employers with other young people who typically have a tough time finding work – those who live in rural communities - and/or individuals who have been justice system involved.

“Everything is about exposure,” said Olivet Boys & Girls Club CEO Rick Perez, who worked at YAP while in college. “You don’t know that you can achieve something until you are actually exposed to it and try. It’s about youth being able to socialize in a different setting, efficiently communicate, and most importantly, it’s about flexibility. Things aren’t so cut and dry when you’re working with kids. It’s about being able to pivot, adjust, and still be successful. There are so many different things that they’re learning.”

With her summer work experience in tow, MaKayla plans to find a masonry job.

“I graduated with knowing how to do brick laying,” MaKayla said. “That is my biggest career goal, to learn different things and to be successful.”

YAP has placed My Work participants in jobs with employers in counties throughout the Commonwealth including: Adams, Bradford, Carbon, Crawford, Delaware, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, and York. For more information on YAP, visit yapinc.org.

OVR programs are supported by U.S. Department of Education. A total of $144,731,271 or 78.7% is financed with federal funds. The remaining 21.3%, including additional matching fund costs ($39,171,233) is funded by state appropriations and other non-federal allowable sources.