Chilliwack/Delta/Victoria – At least 36 youth with developmental disabilities in Chilliwack and surrounding areas are getting additional help to transition from school to work, thanks to a grant provided to the Chilliwack Society for Community Living (CSCL) as part of the IMPACT 2.0 program.
About the program:
- Chilliwack Society for Community Living (CSCL) is receiving approximately $140,000 over
three years – 2023-2025 – part of a $2 million provincial grant to Delta Community
Living Society to run the IMPACT 2.0 program across 10 communities. - The IMPACT 2.0 program is helping as many as 360 youth between 16 and 19 years with
developmental disabilities find work through support and services. - It builds upon the IMPACT 1.0 program which ran between 2020 and 2022 and trained
266 youth. - The program includes:
o Discovery and career exploration: employment counsellors provide one-to-one
assistance to participants create individual plans.
o Skills training
o Job search phase: Participants are given training in job search, negotiations, etc.
About Chilliwack Society for Community Living (CSCL):
- Chilliwack Society for Community Living is a non-profit organization that has been
supporting children, youth, and adults with developmental disabilities in Chilliwack and
surrounding areas since 1954. - As of 2022, the organization supports 613 individuals annually, including 193 children
and 420 adults. It employs 375 staff members, 10% of them engaged in child and youth
services and 5% in employment services.
Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction – “Young people want to have meaningful work to build better lives, feel valued, and share in the prosperity of our province, and our government is working to help them achieve that. Through our funding, youth in Chilliwack are getting trained for meaningful, in-demand jobs, while Chilliwack and surrounding regions are getting more youth workers.”
Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent – “Community partners are so important in the delivery of these employment supports and services. When people work together to deliver programs such as IMPACT, youth gain confidence, independence and self-awareness, and everyone benefits from a more supportive and inclusive community. With the IMPACT program, we’re helping more youth with developmental disabilities better transition from school to work while providing them the supports they need.”
Karen Slingerland, Manager, Chilliwack Society for Community Living – “It has been my joy and pleasure to be a part of this amazing program, watching youth develop their self-confidence, build independence and boldly step out into community, making connections to find employment. This benefits the youth as well as inclusive employers and the community at large!”
