Project PEACE | Project Summary
What is Project PEACE?
Project PEACE aims to improve paid community outcomes and postsecondary education for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities through utilization of community conversations, photovoice, virtual asset mapping, and data-gathering to develop and implement a collaborative community plan for employment transition.
Who leads Project PEACE?
Project PEACE is led by Dr. Seb Prohn from the Partnership for People with Disabilities and the Project PEACE Team.
How is Project PEACE funded?
This project is funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and was awarded in the fall of 2021.
Why was Project PEACE created?
Project PEACE was developed to help increase and enhance collaborations in our communities to improve the transition between school and work in the community for youth with IDD. The project recognizes that youth, families, schools, businesses, agencies, providers and others in our communities each play a role at the community level to ensure that youth with disabilities have the supports, services, and resources they need to successfully transition into their post-secondary lives. Project PEACE lets the community take the lead in identifying unique challenges they face and the solutions they need to improve employment outcomes for youth with IDD.
Why is this program needed in Virginia?
Students, families, and other stakeholders say it best:
"We need to have people with disabilities who are employed and really give them a lime light and let them speak for themselves in whatever way they may do that because I think they get to be a little bit of a missing link in these collaborations"
— Parent of a young person with IDD
"I feel like it takes more of the community to help get different employers together, to help them understand why they should hire people with IDD... you know, with interaction with people with disabilities to help them understand to look beyond that aspect of their disability."
— Richmond Youth with IDD
What is the project’s timeline?
Project PEACE will span five years, with a timeline beginning in September 2021 and continuing through September 2026.
What groups are contributing to this project and what are their roles?
Project PEACE Team:
- Dr. Seb Prohn: Principal investigator
- Dr. Richard Chapman: Project coordinator
- Dr. Paula Ogston: Project evaluator
- Molly Taylor: Graduate Research Associate
- Edgar Gamba: Cultural broker/family support professional
- Mauretta Copeland: Cultural broker/family support professional
- LaNeka Brown: Project support/research assistant
What are the key components of this project?
Project PEACE:
- Will center family voices over the course of this project.
- Work to build collaborations with community leaders and employers with transition aged individuals seeking employment or higher education opportunities.
- Improve the transition from school to employment for students in hopes of a beneficial and independent life.
Do you have questions about Project PEACE?
Contact projectpeace@vcu.edu or call us at 804-828-3876
* This document was converted to plain text from the original document via Claude AI