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Meaningful prevocational, vocational, and/or educational activities are essential ingredients for successful Community reintegration. Some participants use these opportunities in preparation for return to gainful employment, while others use them to enhance the quality of their lives.
Creative Industrial Arts
The Creative Industrial Arts Program is a unique participant-initiated crafts program that has evolved over the past decade at PLUS. The program developed as individuals chose the craft activities and types of projects that most interested them. It is the intent of the Creative Industrial Arts Program to provide a stimulating, educational, and exploratory milieu, which enhances cognitive skills such as planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling each project. Additionally, persons with physical limitations are challenged to develop creative solutions as they complete each project. Some participants have used daily extended involvement in the Creative Industrial Arts Program as a means of "work hardening" in anticipation of return to work. Crafts presently practiced include ceramics, woodworking, stained glass, sandblasted art, and digital photography.
Prevocational Programs
PLUS offers several avenues of prevocational experience for program participants. Individuals may participate in weekly group volunteer outings to agencies such as the county food bank, the American Red Cross, or local nursing homes. Each individual’s job interest and skills are assessed at these sites. When the interdisciplinary treatment team determines that the person can function independently at the volunteer site of their choice, arrangements are made for them to do so at least once each week.
The second avenue for prevocational experiences involves providing individuals with paid, part-time jobs at the Day Program. These persons are paid minimum wage for their labor and are coached or provided with daily feedback by their cognitive therapists. Still other individuals are referred to government vocational agencies for job training, placement, or job coaching
Educational Opportunities
As a community integrated program, PLUS encourages participants to take advantage of opportunities available at local educational institutions. Individuals are initially encouraged to take low-demand, high-interest courses in order to re-acclimate themselves to the academic environment. After this initial experience individuals often take courses that may lead to academic degrees and/or vocational opportunities. PLUS Community Facilitators work closely with both the student and the school to assure that each individual is able to maximize their educational experience.
