A specialized training program at UConn Health is now responsible for helping more than 60 adults overcome barriers to independent employment since 2016.

Favarh’s Project SEARCH, which works with employers to provide structured work experiences for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, has graduated its 10^th cohort at UConn Health, which is the first employer in Connecticut to serve as a host site.

The milestone bridge ceremony at UConn Health Wednesday celebrated the accomplishment of the five interns who completed a 10-month program that included daily hands-on work experiences in a variety of departments and settings. One of them, Ryan Cook, drew cheers (and some tears of happiness) when he announced from the podium, “We are proud to share that we are all employed.”

Cook, from Terryville, already is working at the Walgreens in Thomaston, as a cashier. He spent part of his internship as a cashier in the cafeteria in UConn Health’s main building, as well as in the pharmacy and the linen department.

“We were not sure where our path would take us before Project SEARCH, but now we are profoundly grateful for being able to experience such amazing internships and met so many wonderful people along the way,” Cook said before accepting his certificate.

Scott Masson, of Canton, interned in the mailroom, UConn Center on Aging, and central receiving, and is employed as a utility worker at Naples Pizza and the neighboring Fork and Fire Restaurant in Farmington.

“We are glad to have all of you in our corners,” Masson told the audience, which included mentors, department representatives, and Project SEARCH graduates from previous years, in addition to family members. “You encourage us at every step of our employment journey. We could not ask for better leaders to have assisted us. It has been a life-changing experience. Our self-confidence as never been higher.”

The ceremony also included a video about Favarh’s Project SEARCH at UConn Health, featuring this year’s interns:

Meghan Dyer, from Bristol, interned in dental finance, the psoriasis center, and dental telecommunications. Reflecting on the bridge ceremony, she says, “It was definitely emotional. There’s a lot of people that I just don’t know, but it’s nice to see almost like the history of this program walking the halls, because I’m part of it now. I can say that I’m a graduating member of Project SEARCH’s 10 years.”

Dyer had interviewed for a paid position in dental telecom. She described a call she had while on duty there about two weeks before graduating.

“It’s almost like a sitcom,” she says. “Completely mundane day, the out of the blue, the phone that never takes inbound calls magically gets an inbound call, and it’s Pamela Rucker from HR, telling me I got the job… It was like a pipe dream – I wasn’t expecting it to happen, would have loved it to happen. I wanted to be in the medical field.”

The bridge ceremony included an open forum, where attendees spoke about their connection to the program. George Moses is the operations manager for housekeeping and linens, both areas where interns have been rotating through from the program’s start.

“It’s been amazing,” Moses said. “They have taught our staff some great skills too, how to communicate and communicate with each other very well. It’s just been a pleasure.”

Then he addressed Logan Haynes, who interned in custodial, housekeeping, and central receiving:

“And Logan, you are an amazing young man!”

Haynes, from Canton, is employed as a dishwasher at Beanz & Co., a coffee shop in Avon.

Beanz & Co. also hired Chloe Roberts, who interned in the kitchen, the dermatology clinic, and the psoriasis center.

“It was a bit scary for a couple weeks, and then the staff was really nice and kind and it helped me get through my experience and job skills,” Roberts says. “I used to be shy, talking to the patients, but now my confidence went up a little bit.”

Over its 10 years at UConn Health, 98% of Favarh’s Project SEARCH interns have found successful independent employment, working a minimum of 16 hours a week in a nonseasonal position with market wages. The National Project SEARCH placement rate is 72%.

“I think the mentors here at UConn really understand the program and the purpose, and that is a big part of why we’re so successful,” says Sandy Finnimore, Favarh’s competitive employment coordinator. “The mentors understand that this is not just something to fill the interns’ day, it’s going to change their life. They have to be held accountable and teach them their skills, or they’re not going to be successful, and the mentors understand that. We’ve been very lucky, because all of our mentors have been amazing.”

Finnimore has been involved in the program at UConn Health since Day 1.

“[Ten years ago] I wouldn’t be able to fathom that this many people would have come into my life and I would have been a part of teaching them,” she says. “It’s just unbelievable.”

For Favarh assistant manager Keegan Riley, this was the first cohort she worked with at UConn Health.

“They did so well,” Riley says. “They came in so nervous and excited and driven. I mean, they didn’t’ stop, they just kept trying, kept trying, kept trying. Any feedback we gave them, anything that the mentor said they need to work on, we told them, and they applied it. They were hungry for that position and that job.”

After the ceremony, Cook reflected on his biggest takeaway from his Project SEARCH experience.

“Learning about who I wanted to become and changing my life around,” Cook says.

The 11^th cohort, which starts at UConn Health in August, has eight interns.

Favarh is based in Canton and is a chapter of the Arc, a worldwide organization that supports people with disabilities. In partnership with UConn Health Human Resources and the Connecticut Departments of Developmental Services and Rehabilitative Services, Favarh brought Project SEARCH to UConn Health in 2015. Today there are 16 host employers in Connecticut.

Learn more about Project SEARCH at UConn Health.