Bridge to Possibilities

Team members: Will Dillard, Jennifer Fouse Sheorn, Josh Kendrick, Dorian Lane, Shivani Nadarajah, Elizabeth Palmore, Lauren Payne, Matt Staab

Bridge to Possibilities provides the opportunity for middle and high school students with disabilities to connect with potential employers, university/college programs, resources, and the community to understand different pathways after high school. In partnership with Greenville County Transition Cooperative-a program of Greenville County Schools-Bridge to Possibilities will support an in-person opportunities fair called, Passport to Success, which gathers all the above resources to promote independence for students with disabilities after high school.

HireMeSC cites that South Carolina’s unemployment rate for people with disabilities is one of the highest in the country. There are over 1.1 million individuals with disabilities living in South Carolina. In 2021, the employment gap between those with disabilities compared to those without was 39.5%.  https://www.hiremesc.org/stats.  In addition, 35.8% of people with disabilities in South Carolina that do overcome the barriers of entering the workforce with disabilities post high school are often underpaid (less than a $1 per hour).

Several of the project team members were closely connected to their mission as they knew intimately the challenges and gaps their close friends and family with disabilities experience.

People with disabilities can work, want to work, and should be afforded every opportunity to work, even part time so that some can keep their disability income. However, there are multiple barriers of entry to join the workforce such as education, transportation, knowledge of resources, and overall accessibility.

Bridge to Possibilities will offer an opportunity for exposure to the myriad resources available to those with disabilities and their families in South Carolina, specifically Greenville County. They suspect that many families struggle to be aware of resources that are available to them and their loved ones, as well as the lack of connection between resources (employment opportunities, transportation and higher education programs, etc.).