Scott Shepard Interviewed By SCVTV Community Corner on CIE – Competitive Integrated Employment
Click on the link above or on the photo to view the full video interview.
Carie Lujan: “Welcome back to SCVTV’s Community Corner, joining us now to talk about Avenues SLS is Scott Shepard and Valerie Cooper- Thank you so much for being here.” Scott Shepard: ” Thanks so much for having us.
Carie Lujan: “So Scott can you talk to us a little bit about what Avenues SLS is and what kind of work you do for the community?”
Scott Shepard: “Absolutely, Avenues is a non-profit agency and we support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Santa Carita Valley and the San Fernando valley to live in their own homes, to have meaningful day opportunities for employment and volunteerism, and to live the lives that they want with the support that they need to live safely and responsibly in their own homes.”
Dave Caldwell: “So Scott, tell us a little bit about Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) and how does that affect youth and adults with disabilities.”
Scott Shepard: “CIE is something that we strive for everyone that is interested in becoming employed it means just like for everybody in the workforce it means your earning minimum wage or better you are paid directly by the employer and you work alongside typical peers. This is a nationwide commitment that the federal government has as well as our state has to really improve and increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Because people with disabilities if they are not working then they gonna be living in lives of poverty. Our job is to try to help people to get paid employment to be able to be taxpayers and to ween them off some of those state-funded benefits, and so, that’s what we do.
Avenues is partnering with the City of Santa Clarita Community Services and Arts Program to promote CIE (Competitive Integrated Employment) awareness and our goals are to increase employment opportunities for adults with IDD, to decrease the employment gap and underemployment of people with IDD and those without disabilities, to improve business employers understanding of the benefits and values of hiring the people we support and to improve SCV awareness of the excellent capabilities of adults with IDD who do and can work in the Santa Clarita Valley.”
Dave Caldwell: “Scott, the work you are doing is so important, especially for the population you are serving…why should they support the organization and the work you are doing. Since this air date Painting with a purpose has ended. However, this is an Annual Fundraiser we look forward to seeing you all there supporting at the 4th Annual fundraiser next March 23, 2023, 6:30 – 9:00 pm at Painting with a Twist, Valencia, CA.
Scott Shepard: “As a non-profit supporting Individuals with disabilities, we are relying on fixed state rates and that really makes it challenging and difficult to hire and maintain qualified staff we are very fortunate that most of our staff have worked with us for years. But, with the gas prices going up and things like this we also use a lot of our own cars and gas for transportation, and even with the reimbursement rates we have as you all know with the rates going up this will really help us as an agency to support our staff to get the people we support out to their jobs to the community to volunteer and do the things they like to do.”
Carrie Lujan: “Scott if people do want to support you where can they go to support you?”
Scott Shepard: our website is the best bet and that is at www. AvenuesSLS.org
Carrie Lujan: Scott and Valerie Thank you so much for being with us today!
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