May 2019
Southern Oregon Aspire is a nonprofit organization that provides support services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The nonprofit was formed in 1975, and long-time residents of Grants Pass will remember them as SPARC and Stepping Stone.
“A group of parents came together in 1975 to create an idea for their children,” said Aspire CEO Debbie Saunders. “During this time, parents of mentally disabled children had no other option but to send their child to a state institution. When this group looked at their children, they saw opportunities rather than challenges; they saw inspiration and not a burden. It started as a dream but now 43 years later, Southern Oregon Aspire supports over 200 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Josephine & Jackson Counties.”
Aspire provides support services in residential housing, vocational job training, community inclusion activities, community employment placement, and behavioral in-home supports.
They offer commercial and residential contracts in landscaping and janitorial services, while their Computer Store at 1475 NE 7th Street offers quality used electronics for sale. Products include, laptops, desktops, keyboard, mice, electronic parts, cords, etc.
The residential program supports 46 people in 11 homes. These homes are staffed with 24-hour support. There’s also a multi-unit complex that supports 28 individuals living independently in the community. Aspire offers individualized recruitment, training, placement and oversight to many individuals who work in the community. The WORX Crew is a small employment team that contracts with the City of Grants Pass to stuff and mail the City’s water bill each month. The program helps individuals learn important work skills.
The Community Inclusion Day program provides community-based support for 70 individuals to explore the array of opportunities available to them and discover and participate within the community on their terms.
Keeping their clients’ choices is an important part of Aspire. “Through our vocational job training, we offer services in commercial contracts in janitorial at 20 locations and landscaping at 32 locations,” Saunders said. “At the Computer Store, we accept donations from the community, and those donated items are broken down and recycled or refurbished and sold in the store. The main focus for these services is to offer vocational job training to fifty individuals. We provide them with individual and team support in learning valuable job skills.”
If you want to learn more about Southern Oregon Aspire’s programs or how to get involved, call 541-237-3021. You can also visit www.soaspire.org and/or like/follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
