Riverside Enterprises
Originally named in 1978, Riverside Enterprises first meant a sheltered workshop program. Over the last three decades, Riverside Enterprises has evolved to come to represent a family of day supports and services all focused upon dramatically improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.
Many of the supports are geared towards helping people with developmental disabilities become valued, contributing members of their community.
Community Inclusion Project
Begun in December 1993, the Community Inclusion Project is designed to connect persons with developmental disabilities on an individual basis to local community life based upon their choices. The Project helps people to become involved in volunteer jobs, associations, churches, recreational groups, and self-development/educational activities. Supported employment services are available to people involved in the Project. People involved in the Project are funded by Medicaid waiver monies as well as NYS VESID resources for supported employment services.
The Project is known both statewide and nationally as one of the first successful efforts to provide those supports on an individual basis in the community. Building supports around a person's unique needs, interests, talents and choices in their community is what the staff of the Community Inclusion Project excels at!
Employment Services
Since 1986, Riverside Employment Services has been assisting people with developmental disabilities to become successfully employed in the community. What makes employment services offered through Riverside Enterprises special is the attention staff gives to getting to know each person supported as an individual with his or her own interests, gifts, needs, and dreams. It is clear right from the start when an employment services staff person goes to a person's home to meet and get to know the individual and his/her family that customer service is a priority.
All job placements are done on an individualized basis to provide the best possible match between the person's needs, inerests, skills and, the job site.
Work Centers/Production Operations
The roots of Riverside Enterprises can be found in the work center that was developed in the late 1970's as a means to provide vocational training to people with developmental disabilities. The work center expanded in size and numbers of people served through the mid 1980's until supports shifted to helping people learn the necessary employment skills in a paid community job.
Now 50% smaller in numbers from the late 1980's, today's Riverside Enterprises is a sophisticated combination of three product lines and a work force comprised of people with and without disabilities. A third of the workers with disabilities also spend a portion of their week in community roles, such as volunteering or taking classes, building upon their interests, talents, and choices.
One product line, wire forming, creates wire products for the floral industry and is sold in 48 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Intensive development work over many years has resulted in Riverside Enterprises becoming a serious competitor in this growing market. Check out our on-line catalog at www.wirestore.com.
School to Employment Transition Services
Riverside Enterprises offers school to employment services for students with developmental disabilities. Recognized as a leader in transition services in New York State, The ARC has married their person-centered approach with the concept of developing a working partnership with the school all in support of the young adult's success in community employment.
Perhaps the flagship of transition programs in New York State, the School to Employment Partnership (S.T.E.P.) was developed with the Enlarged City School District of Troy in 1995. The Partnership is a highly innovative blending of school district staff and ARC staff to support freshmen through senior students to become employed competitively by graduation and provide post-graduation employment support.
Other transition arrangements have been developed with area districts with as few as a single student, but all sharing the person-centered approach that is the hallmark of the Rensselaer ARC.