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Greene Arc works with university students

By Matt Koll editorial Assistant 4 min read

An estimated three percent of the local Greene County population has some level of intellectual or developmental disabilities, according to Greene Arc. For the people of Greene County, that translates to over 1,200 individuals who are likely in need of services.

Starting out with just a few concerned parents in 1967, Greene Arc Inc. is an organization located approximately 10 miles from Waynesburg University’s campus. It reaches out to the community by developing quality programming to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

“Greene Arc is the largest human service provider in the County of Greene,” said Executive Director Cynthia Dias. “Our mission is to promote independence and employment of disabled citizens.”

Through its 65 staff members, Greene Arc provides a plethora of support programs to assist individuals in becoming a functioning member of the community. Residential programs are one of these, offering consumers group homes to live in at four different locations in Greene County, with 24-hour service. There is also what is deemed as family living, where a host family permits a consumer to reside in their home with the consumer paying room and board and Greene Arc providing a stipend to the family. Semi-independent living is also an option, where consumers live in their own home, yet require up to 30 hours per week of support to maintain community tenure.

The Bonner scholars at Waynesburg are already working with Greene Arc, helping with its Drop-In Center located on 30 N. Washington Street in Waynesburg.

“The individuals at the Drop-in Center are patients in mental health recovery,” said Dias. “They complete activities with them that inspire socialization and life skills as well as recreational activities. This program is driven by the consumers, which is unique because all the other programs have pre-determined plans.”

Greene Arc also offers vocational programs, where they can destroy sensitive materials for local banks, businesses and industries. Some of its other programs allow for simulation of real world jobs and community employment to its consumers, like the kitchen program that enhances their knowledge of the food industry trade and the recycling program.

“Greene Arc is the recycling agent for the county of Greene,” said Dias. “Consumers with intellectual developmental disabilities are learning the trade of processing recyclable materials, preparing those materials for shipment, while also learning to work well with others and stay on task. It is the closest simulated program to community employment.”

Consumers of Greene Arc can be involved in supportive employment as well, where they actively seek a job with the help of a job coach and job developer.

Greene Arc would love to see more students other than the Bonner scholars from the university get involved in what they are doing and helping in providing opportunities to the community.

Getting involved with Greene Arc is a rather simple process. It starts with contacting the Human Resources department to express interest and then taking part in an interview to determine what program one would like to be involved in, along with a criminal and child abuse background check.

Human Resources Director Lisa Pollock would love to see more students involved, and that barely requires stepping off the campus.

“There is an Open Arms Day Center right below the college that feature an artist that creates artwork out of our recycling materials,” said Pollock. “I think that would be a great opportunity to work one on one with the individuals and I think would be the best thing for them to experience. They can see the different behaviors and programs we have set up to help each individual meet their own needs.”

Dias and Greene Arc would fully appreciate the chance to work with Waynesburg students.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the student at the university,” said Dias. “We think they are innovative and creative and can bring insight into what we’re doing and we believe we can provide them with knowledge of what a working environment is like. Especially working with a population that truly needs our support.”

With the support of many, Greene Arc has reached out to many members of the area and has given them ample chances to gain employment and become more functioning members of the community.

Dias believes that anyone, including the students here at Waynesburg, can come together to make that kind of positive difference.

“I think that everyone that resides in a community should be involved in the betterment of the community,” said Dias. “With everyone working together, the only result will be a better community for all involved.”

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