Via Employment Program Receives $10,000 Educational Grant
October 28, 2009

BETHLEHEM, PA – Via’s Employment program received $10,000 from the PA Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Promoting Social Security’s Work Incentives to help people with disabilities find jobs. Via’s Employment program provides job development, job coaching and follow-along support to adults with disabilities so they can work in the community.

The goal of the Work Incentives grant is to reach out to interested job seekers with disabilities to help them access federal and state work incentives. Social Security Work Incentives make it possible for people with disabilities receiving Social Security to work and still receive benefits.

Individuals often want to work but are not knowledgeable about how work income will affect their benefits. Through this grant, Via will provide education and assistance to adults with disabilities and their families to help them understand how they can gain successful employment and maintain their Medicaid and Medicare benefits.

Work Incentives are a valuable piece of an individual’s plan to enter the work force and provide a safety net to assist beneficiaries in finding the right job and succeeding in the workplace. With Via’s assistance and using tools like Social Security’s Work Incentives, more and more adults with disabilities are finding and maintaining successful employment in the community.

Via of the Lehigh Valley is a non-profit human service agency that provides services for children and adults with disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Serving the community since 1954, Via’s staff help individuals and families from birth through retirement focusing in Children’s Services, Community Connections and Employment.

Via works with children up to age three in their homes and daycares to address disabilities and delays. Via finds jobs in the community for adults and provides coaching and training for successful employment. And Via helps people, from teens to those at retirement age, connect and live in their community by volunteering, participating in leisure activities, and finding or purchasing affordable, accessible housing. Via fosters and advocates the concept of inclusion and choice within schools, neighborhoods and communities, personal relationships, and employment. Via believes that personal satisfaction and dignity are achieved through individual success and independence and is committed to helping people live full and productive lives. Visit www.ViaNet.org to learn more about Via’s services.

For more information, contact:
Lisa Walkiewicz, Communications Director
L.Walkiewicz@vianet.org | 484-893-5390