CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Puzzle Pieces seeking funding for Owen Autism Center

Messenger-Inquirer - 8/26/2021

Aug. 26—Puzzle Pieces, a local nonprofit that serves individuals with intellectual disabilities, is a finalist for a grant that will help support its Owen Autism Center, which is geared toward teaching necessary skills to clients to pursue jobs or higher education.

The Owen Autism Center, according to public relations director Ashley Wedding, takes a person-centered approach to its clients in helping provide them with the skills they need to be successful in a job they want to pursue or in receiving a college degree.

The program, Wedding said, is called "Pre-Employment Transition Service" and is targeted toward individuals ages 14 to 21 years old.

The program feeds into Puzzle Pieces' employment opportunities program — which places clients in jobs throughout the community — by preparing clients early on.

"We're hoping to build those skills earlier on through our Owen Autism Center so when they get to our employee opportunities, they're even more prepared or they're prepared to go on to secondary education," Wedding said.

She said the program focuses on teaching clients skills based on their individual needs.

"We help them with any skills that are really targeted toward that client, they could need ... time management skills, they could need fine motor skills, they could need money management, any of those things," she said. "It's really a person-centered approach, so it's really what that client specifically needs."

Wedding said the program also gives clients at the center a chance at an independent life.

The Owen Autism Center, according to Wedding, opened last fall with a long waiting list. The center was able to immediately begin serving 20 clients and has since doubled to 40 clients. It still has a waiting list.

The establishment of the center and the programs within it are part of greater efforts to provide the community with necessary autism programming.

Receiving funding for the center, Wedding said, will help Puzzle Pieces continue expanding the program to eventually be able to serve more clients.

"There's a very strong need for autism programming in our community and the Greater Owensboro area, so we are just doing everything we can to fund the Owen Autism program so we can bring more clients off that waiting list and serve even more," she said.

Puzzle Pieces applied for a grant through the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program several months ago, according to Wedding, and was selected as a top 200 finalist out of 2,000 total organizations. It's one of four organizations in Kentucky to be chosen as finalists.

Organizations chosen as part of the top 40 — which will be determined through online voting at www.neighborhoodassist.com — will each receive a $25,000 grant.

"To be one of only four organizations in Kentucky to have this unique opportunity is very humbling and exciting," said executive director Amanda Owen. "We are very blessed to be a part of a community that has continually supported us ... . We need everyone to rally around us in order to win this funding. Each vote matters, and we know that Owensboro is going to show up in a big way for Puzzle Pieces."

Wedding is encouraging community members to vote for Puzzle Pieces up to 10 times a day. Voting ends at 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, and the top 40 causes will be announced on Sept. 29.

Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360

___

(c)2021 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.