Alex Mosher
Staff Writer
Growing up is never easy.
Bills begin to pile on, paychecks are spent just as fast as they’re received, and jobs are a lot harder to get than expected. It’s not uncommon to hear complaints from new adults about obtaining the skills needed to excel in everyday life.
These daily struggles are especially difficult for students with special needs. That’s where the VOICE program steps in.
Vocational Opportunities and Independence through Community Education (VOICE) is a program intended to help transition students from school life to adulthood one service at a time. VOICE serves students ages 18 to 21 who have special needs and are graduates from School District 25.
“Students [learn how to] shop on a budget and how to manage a checking account,” said Julie Morris, program facilitator and teacher for VOICE.
The students enrolled in the program are a part of the school district’s Extended Resource and Developmental Learning program, which allows them to interact with ISU students their own age.
The students use their creativity and make their own items they want to sell at fundraisers. The funds the students raise go directly back to the program to help organize activities and purchase the supplies needed in order to aid the students.
VOICE began in 2011 and partnered with the College of Education in 2013. The program started to excel shortly after transition programs started to gain more support and acknowledgement.
Federal law states that high school students should be served from ages 3 to 21. After completing graduation requirements, and either reaching the maximum age or deciding to progress from high school, VOICE students learn about work ethic, job exploration and resume-building. Other skill sets they learn consist of communication, safety, self-advocacy, cooking, laundry, hygiene, money and finance.
“My favorite part is watching my learners grow,” Morris said.
VOICE’s main goal is to help these students gain confidence in their independence skills by placing them with peers their own age to help encourage them along the way. Volunteers are always needed to help the program continue to grow.
“Volunteers have said that they learned a lot about themselves and about individuals with disabilities,” Martha Fae Frymire, a School District 25 employee involved with the program, told The Bengal last year. “Volunteers come and have lunch with us, go out to eat with us and play games or do activities. They can bring their interests and ideas to provide new variety.”
Volunteers and students share similar interests in music, sports, science and art.
