The Works

The Works is a regular news feature apearing in the Coalition Briefs. [see past columns in the archives]

November 21, 2002

Cognitive Remediation and Supported Employment Project Grantees. The NY Work Exchange is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Cognitive Remediation and Supported Employment Project grants: Goodwill Industries in the Bronx and Brooklyn, the Mental Health Association, and the Institute for Community Living. These exciting projects will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of combining cognitive remediation and supported employment services for mental health consumers.

This program is designed to help consumers quickly attain work and to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive remediation in helping clients in supported employment reach their work goals. To achieve these goals, a Cognitive Remediation Intervention (CRI) has been developed. The CRI consists of neuropsychological assessment, computer-based cognit ive exercises, integration of cognitive rehabilitation and supported employment services, and development of compensatory strategies for areas of cognitive weakness.

We look forward to sharing with the community the results of this innovative program. For more information about this dynamic project, contact Alysia Pascaris at 212-742-1122.

NYWE Community Presence. The New York Work Exchange was pleased to make presentations on its mission and goals to the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene's Queens Mental Health Council and Brooklyn Mental Health Council. The two November presentations were well attended and the questions were insightful as well as revealing.

Director Alysia Pascaris and Deputy Director Alan Menikoff explained the WorkExchange's mission to promote work and career opportunities for consumers of mental health services by offering expert trainings, focused technical assistance, information updates, research and evaluation and special projectsto the NYC provider community through.

The Work Exchange's innovative Program of Study, which helps inform and educate professionals and consumers with practical, skilloriented training, was described along with the curriculum. The curriculum is designed to address the knowledge and critical skills necessary to help people with mental illness acquire and sustain work.

The Work Exchange's community presence was also felt at the HireDisability Career Expo at the New Yorker Hotel on November 5. The Work Exchange staffed an exhibit booth while informing and interacting with the heavy stream of participants and job seekers. The team provided information about training programs and resources available to consumers and service providers alike. The NYWE's WORKbook, a guide to NYC's Mental Health Employment Programs, was in heavy demand.

The Career Expo was also attended by companies like Microsoft, Pitney-Bowes, and agencies like VESID, and the Social Security Administration. Also, the New York Times had a reporter present writing about this event. The event was reported in the November 10, 2002, Job Market section of the New York Times in an article by Maggie Jackson.