SEPTEMBER 2011
VOL. ONE ISSUE 1
Healing Hands of HOPE
Vision Statement and Purpose Healing Hands of HOPE is an organization that assists individuals with their vocational, educational and advocacy needs. We exist to facilitate Holistic Opportunities for Personal Enrichment. Our vision is to offer guidance and services that will provide persons with the tools necessary to meet their full potential both personally and professionally. We understand that quality of life is often enhanced by the professional path one takes, and we seek to actualize you to the highest level that you are capable of achieving. We provide a myriad of Employment, Education and Advocacy Services. Employment Services include group seminars focused on obtaining and maintaining employment, individual soft skills development, resume writing and editing, job marketing, supported employment, job development and placement. Educational Services provide group transitional planning and consultation to middle-and secondary school students, individualized vocational planning services to families, and resource guides for local services individualized to meet the specific needs of the client. We provide Basic American Sign Language instructions for the general community and if verified that there is a dependent in the immediate home that is Deaf, classes are at no cost.
Transition Services Healing Hands of HOPE seeks to serve you in the areas of educational training and transitional planning. We would like the opportunity to discuss how we can help you reach your goals of providing quality services to your Special Education students and meeting your Indicator 13 and 14 each year. Our goal is to equip you with the tools necessary to succeed in transition, while making you self sufficient in this area. Our trainings and materials for faculty and staff are meant to give you building blocks that your district can use to train incoming faculty as well. HOPE desires to give you a voice so that you can speak for yourself. Our services are designed to be short-term in nature, but equip you with skills that you will be able to use and re-train other staff members, with minimal additional support.
Healing Hands of HOPE
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P.O. Box 75342, Houston, TX 77234newsletter text ewsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue Phone: 713.364.4325 here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue Lavonia@championforHOPE newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here.
Giving you a voice so you can speak for yourself...
championforHOPE.com
Transition Services Why is Transition So Important?
School Transition awareness has reached remarkable heights in the last several years. With the enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, No Child Left Behind Act and numerous others, the nation in general and the state of Texas in particular has become increasingly aware of the transitional needs of students with disabilities. Along with this awareness, there has been a greater incentive to make sure that this population is served with the best appropriate education and services needed to reach attainable post-secondary goals. Funding from the United States Department of Education guarantees that all its entities, including school districts, grant a free appropriate public education to all otherwise qualified individuals within the school’s jurisdiction. The quality of services provided to the individuals with disabilities must be equal to the quality of services provided by individuals without disabilities. Appropriate and effective transitional planning is crucial to a student’s post-secondary success, due to the change from eligibility to entitlement upon leaving high school. Students with disabilities often face a very low success rate, if not extensively prepared before exiting the public education system. Indicator 13 enforces the percent of youth with IEPs aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes appropriate measurable postsecondary goals that are annually updated and based upon an age appropriate transition assessment, transition services, including courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to meet those postsecondary goals, and annual IEP goals related to the student’s transition services needs. Healing Hands of Hope believes that a partnership with Independent School Districts could help reach this goal. The transition program will provide solution to the needs in the school districts in relations to special needs students and hopefully by working together we will be able to better serve the special needs students in our community.
Transitional Services Include: Training courses for educators and administrators Resource handbooks and guides Breakout sessions for all students grades 7-12, with additional grade-specific resources
How HOPE can help Partnership with School Districts Our goal is to make sure that the student and the school has the education and resources needed to prepare for success in school and after graduation. Services for students include IPE planning, disability awareness and advocacy, and educational resources and referrals. Services for school districts include faculty and staff training on disability awareness, training and resource guides for transitional planning, and community referral guides. HOPE recognizes that each school district has different needs and we hope to work together to build a plan that is specific to your goals in transition. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text here. Continue
SEPTEMBER 2011
VOL. ONE ISSUE 1
Healing Hands of HOPE
Employment Services include:
Career Interest and Assessment o The individual will participate in tailored aptitude and altitude assessments to best determine interests, capabilities, and limitations in order to choose the most professionally feasible career goal in light of personal desires. Employment Seminars o Seminars will be held one Saturday a month and will focus on developing and understanding the skills and tools needed to obtain and maintain a career in today’s society. Seminars include:
Where are the Jobs? Trending in Today’s Economy Marketing Myself: Writing a Resume that will get you hired Am I prepared to be hired? Interviewing Skills Careers that fit your Lifestyle: Aptitude, Altitude and Career Assessments Resources for the Unemployed: Linkage with Social/Support Agencies Education, It’s more than just a University: Understanding what’s after High School or GED and many more
Employment Advancement Program Job Marketing
Unemployment is on the rise. We have seen some improvement in this department rather recently but the rate is still slightly over 9% which is significantly high. In Texas there are roughly 1 million unemployed individuals. Although Healing Hands of HOPE cannot assist each one of these individuals, we do believe we can make a difference in our community, by providing job marketing. Healing Hands will build relationships with area businesses and companies in order to gain insight into the specific needs of employment for their company. Once this relationship has been built, we will seek to offer our services in finding exceptional employment to meet their specific needs. When an employment opportunity becomes available, the business would solicit our services to find a suitable candidate. A database of individual job seekers will be maintained and catalogued in categories of field, experience, education and locale. Healing Hands will ‘market’ the clients to the employer by highlighting the strengths, experience, education and qualifications in order to secure an interview for the job seeker. A resume and letter of recommendation would be included in this service.
Giving you a voice, so you can speak for yourself.
SEPTEMBER 2011
VOL. ONE ISSUE 1
Healing Hands of HOPE
HOPE Partnership Working together for our community This organization was founded out of a direct need in the community for quality employment services. Many families are finding it difficult to financially support their loved ones, due to the economic hardships caused by the rising unemployment rate. Many services and resources are available both to those with diagnosed disabilities and those without, but finding these agencies is a tedious journey, coupled with setbacks, dead ends and deflated hopes. HOPE seeks to bridge that gap between existing and thriving by linking individuals with jobs, resources and advocacy to achieve their highest possible goal. HOPE will officially launch in September 2011, and we look forward to the chance to discuss partnership in further detail in the near future.
Giving you a voice, so that you can speak for yourself‌
Healing Hands of HOPE P.O. Box 75342, Houston, TX 77234 Phone: 713.364.4325 lavonia@championforHOPE
www.championforHOPE.com