Bridges to Work

Bridges to Work Career Program

Friendship Home’s Bridges to Work Career Program helps people with developmental disabilities to explore their career plans, set goals, and assess and build the necessary skills to attain and retain a job. Program participants benefit from job placement opportunities, community employment and ongoing support.  Friendship Home’s professional and caring staff members meet with program participants and their family members to provide support and guidance, to discuss community service and group training projects, and to design a vocational plan uniquely tailored to meeting each individual’s personal career goals, as outlined in the Individual Vocational Plan.

Friendship Home launched our Bridges to Work program in April 2010 with a 12 week entrepreneurial training program with 4 participants. The group participated in brainstorming sessions, business plan development, budgeting and team building activities. They chose their business – the “Friends Forever” events business with the goal of running monthly theme events at our facility in Norwell. We launched our business with a Beach Party in Augut 2010 and have since celebrated Fiestas, Dancing with the Stars, Mardi Gras and many other festive events. All are open to our program participants and their guests as well as interested community members.

Our program continues to evolve as we seek opportunities for our Bridges to Work participants to gain valuable work skills and recognition for their abilities. We have become the distribution site for Cell Phones for Soldiers a nationally recognized program that helps soldiers to stay in contact with love one’s while deployed by distributing phone cards. Additional opportunities to learn skills include serving meals at Father Bill’s and Mainspring, trail maintenance at the South Shore Natural Science Center and helping with Bingo at a local nursing home. Our new “Next Chapter Book Club” provides opportunities to build reading and social skills but discussing a mutually agreed upon book at weekly meetings at our local Barnes and Nobel bookstore. Through group and individual support, participants realize their potential and apply their skills in both employment and community settings.