Description
Make Information Accessible
Armed with the correct information and resources, we believe people with disabilities can take control of their lives, ensuring opportunity to lead a fulfilling, meaningful life. To this end, we:
- Maintain an accessible online clearinghouse of disability-related information and resources via new-horizons.org for parents and their children, teens transitioning to adult life, veterans, adults in mid-life and caregivers
- Provide personalized information and referral to address each individual’s unique issues and needs
- Write and publish online guides covering major common problems faced by many, such as housing, financial planning, employment, health care, etc.
- Provide opportunities and tools to connect and mobilize individuals with disabilities toward social change
Make Technology Accessible and Useful
Technology is and will continue to be a prominent part of our lives. It is more important than ever that the technological divide, which continues to limit our community members with disabilities, is closed. People with disabilities must have access to, and the knowledge to use a computer or tablet and the Internet, if they hope to advance their position in life. To this end, we:
- Make available a grant program that provides refurbished, Windows 7 computer workstations to individuals who would not otherwise have in-home access to this essential technology
- Provide ongoing, personalized computer and Internet literacy training to each applicant
- Provide information, tools and resources for self-paced learning in the home
- Provide ongoing guidance and technical support to ensure each computer remains useful into the future
Advance Employment
People with disabilities are highly motivated to find their place in corporate America. We hope to improve entry-level employment opportunities for people with disabilities. To this end, we:
- Partner with Disability Employment Agencies to provide hands-on training and experience in IT and Office Administration via temporary work experiences and internships
Develop and promote materials aimed at:
- Educating individuals with disabilities on workplace environments and behaviors
- Educating employers on the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities
- Identify professional mentors and create a network of employers committed to inclusive recruiting and hiring practices
- Provide ongoing, experiential volunteer opportunities aimed at improving professional and social skills
Support Veterans with Disabilities
In a very real sense, Veterans with disabilities, while ensuring others their freedom and independence, have lost their own.
We are working to provide information on Veteran-specific resources so that our veterans with disabilities and their families, who are emotionally and physically exhausted, do not have to spend time lost in bureaucracies, missing opportunities and benefits they so rightfully deserve. To this end, we:
Maintain an online resource, via new-horizons.org/cmtvet.html that provides information on organizations that offer support on a national basis in areas such as:
- Benefits assistance
- Employment
- Financial assistance
- Homelessness prevention and assistance
- Home ownership
- Mental wellness
- And much more
We also extend our computer grant and literacy program to any veteran with a disability.
Support Respite in the Outdoors
We are partnering with natural resource groups in Wisconsin to provide greater access to recreational and restorative activities that can provide respite from the physical and emotional energy drain experienced by many individuals with disabilities and their caregivers. To this end, we:
- Support a wheelchair-accessible cabin building program in the state parks to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation, and exploration of the great outdoors
