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Disabilities should never be a barrier to finding a job, especially in the medical field, a workplace where every single person can have an impact. Project SEARCH is a non-profit program designed to help disabled high school students from ages 18 to 21 get into work environments through on-site experience, redefining disability to diversability for many.
“I’ve watched students who are shy and lack confidence do remarkable things here.” Said Tianna Buie. “I am surprised at the growth of each student who, in many cases, do not meet the criteria for employment in various jobs. I am confident in their ability to leave this program and work independently in many fields.”
There are over twenty possible job types supported by Project SEARCH across the country, but the program in Brunswick County is partnered with Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center and teaches students how to work inside a hospital, giving them a range of opportunities for school to job transition. The goals of Project SEARCH are to give students with disabilities a job to work for more than 16 hours a week, to pay the average wage of the state, to be in an integrated setting and be non-seasonal.
“The program isn’t 100 percent effective of course,” said Project SEARCH co-founder Susie Rutkowski. “But we do our best to get them into jobs, and we continue working with them throughout the summer if they aren’t quite ready.”
Project SEARCH itself was founded by Erin Riehle and Susie Rutkowski and has been operating since 1996, eventually growing from a single site in Cincinnati Children’s to stretching across the seas, operating in foreign countries and supporting hundreds of students.
“Every state has introduced Project SEARCH differently,” said Rutkowski. “But North Carolina’s Disability Council had heard about it and thought it was a great idea, and so we started a couple programs in North Carolina.”
Eventually, Project SEARCH spread to North Carolina through NC’s Council of Developmental Disabilities (or NCCDD), being introduced in the early 2000’s and spreading further even afterward. In the 2010’s, Project SEARCH showed great growth in North Carolina, growing from just four sites to twelve within three years, and in 2022, there were seventeen.
“NCCDD has long had an interest in seeing people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) obtain competitive, integrated employment,” said Phillip Woodward. “And the structure of Project SEARCH allows high school and community college students with I/DD to gain a variety of skills through Project SEARCH internships that better prepare them for employment after they graduate from the program.”
Tianna Buie, itinerant and instructor for the program at Novant, teaches students Project SEARCH curriculum and supports them through their integration. Each student has an initial three week orientation before moving onto a ten week internship in a job that the student believes they may enjoy or do well in; this process is repeated twice more, the students being interviewed between each trimester to find out the best role for them on site.
“We see each other daily, they drop in to eat lunch with us in our classroom.” Said Buie. “I am overjoyed with watching their growth and development into adulthood. It makes me so proud to have played a part in their journey to adulthood. I am still available to assist them with job-related questions and mentorship. I can not ask for a better job or experience, I am in love with my job. ”
