Business Beat: Seven Hills Customized Employment Program proves model for success

Customized Employment at Seven Hills in Woonsocket, RI has been considered a success for Joe, wh
continues to prove the value of the program as he grows and progresses at work, and in life

Seven Hills Rhode Island, a comprehensive health and human services organization supporting more than 1,000 residents throughout the state, has more than 60 years of experience providing a wide range of supports for people of all ages – from infants to senior citizens – with various disabilities and life challenges. Their integrated supports are individualized, person-centered, and community-based, taking a holistic approach that provides a range of health care, behavioral health, community supports, assisted living, day habilitation, educational, and vocational expertise.

Program director Melissa Charpentier notes, “Everyone has gifts. When the gifts are shared everyone benefits. The employer benefits from a valuable and reliable candidate, creates a stronger workplace environment, and the employee benefits from the job and a fuller life.”

Seven Hills Job developer Val Larochelle began working with Joe, pictured above, pre-Covid, learning details of his interests, skills, hobbies, social interactions. During the important “Discovery” stage of the program designed to find and create a positive, perhaps even “ideal” work situation for Joe.

Equally important, the program is also designed to ensure prospective employers’ needs are fully understood, and a good prospective employee match can be made. Clearly, Val did find the right match. Her search for prospective employers willing to take on candidates with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities is ongoing, but once she met Kenneth Bowdish at RI Indoor Karting in Lincoln, she saw that Joe’s interest and abilities were a good fit for this small business.

Beyond work, Joe also continues his efforts to give back to the community, enjoying his work with kids, which has included mentoring a young boy and assisting as a coach for soccer and basketball teams at the Special Olympics in Milford, MA. Feedback from team members and Joe’s own job coach, Val, indicates he does a great job with this important work, too. Joe’s life is busy, especially Saturdays. He independently takes the bus from his home in Providence to his workplace in Lincoln. While Joe continues to perform the core responsibilities of his job – moving, cleaning, and disinfecting the
carts and the arcade where kids gather, vacuuming, and helping his supervisor with various aspects of prep, he is also learning other dimensions of the job. For example, Joe is scheduled to learn how to operate the cash register early this year, with assistance from a small business owner associated with the Special Olympics.

Seven Hills staffers routinely follow-up to ensure that the employer is satisfied with the employee, and they’re ready to assist when needed. However, in this instance, they’re not needed. Joe needs no ongoing job coaching or supervision, and his employer is very supportive and pleased with Joe’s performance and reliability.

In addition to his job and coaching soccer, Joe also receives community based supports from Seven Hills, where he is able to participate in activities that round out his work/life experiences. Trips to the library and working with computers are balanced out with volunteer opportunities at the food bank or the cat sanctuary. Always a sociable person, Joe likes where he works, enjoys interacting with customers, and is very comfortable asking his supervisor for assistance and direction when he needs it.

Customized employment programs have been duplicated and proven successful in other states and state agencies. Seven Hills has metrics defining success. More importantly, Joe is flourishing at work, as a sports coach, and as a young man who is willing and able to help others.