As part of the Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success program, funded by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and administered by Commonwealth Corporation through Massachusetts’ Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, the Polus Center has received $1 million in generous support to continue and expand our human resources and autism support training programs.
About the Autism Support Training Program
In an excellent article by Athol Daily News, Autism Support Program Directory Katie Moura was interviewed about the grant, saying, "We’re really a training-to-work program, so we’re helping support people who are unemployed or underemployed and looking to get into the field of supporting people with autism. Whether that’s in a school setting, in an in-home setting, or adult support—whatever people are interested in.”
Katie stressed the importance of connecting participants with those who have lived experience, adding, "“No matter what degree you may have, there’s no more valuable experience than lived experience. I can’t speak to someone’s experience if I haven’t experienced it. So, we try to get a lot of different people with lived experience because also, everyone’s experience is different.”
Jonathan Heimburg, who recently completed the program, said in his interview, "I’ve always been into helping professions, so I saw this as a natural progression. It was a very positive experience. I’m glad that I did it."
The first class of 18 attendees has already completed, and the grant will cover three more seasons over the course of two years. “We really want people getting into jobs that they want,” Moura said. “Not just any job, but a job that people are going to be passionate about. Because when you’re passionate about what you’re doing, your job performance is better, and when you’re supporting people directly, that makes a big difference.”
About the Human Services Training Program
The same article interviewed Human Services Training Program Director Robbie Richards, who was a participant herself in 2023. “I wanted to reinvent myself. Didn’t know how, didn’t know if I had the transferable skills for anything other than what I’d done for all my career. And then I saw this advertisement through MassHire, and I decided to take [the class],” Robbie said. “It was eye-opening. It was six weeks… and it made me a better human, and I found community, and I found myself again.”
Our human services program, which supports individuals entering all kinds of fields related to human services, has graduated 90 participants over the last two years. “I am excited that the program did get another grant,” Robbie added. “I’m so happy that they believed in us, that we can offer it for two more years. Because it’s really making a difference. It’s giving hope and it’s placing people in jobs that they didn’t think they could do before.”
We thank the wonderful reporters at Athol Daily News for their coverage of our programs.