An Omaha Public Schools program that helps students with disabilities ages 18 to 21 is asking for the public's help.
This time of year, most high school students are looking to the future. Because of their special needs, students like Kourtney Smoot might have a future with a look a little different than a typical high school student.
"I'm 19 years old, this is my second year of being in the Transition Program [at school]."
In OPS's Transition Program, students focus on living skills and functioning outside of school.
For Kourtney, life and getting a job after school has been intimidating.
"I just wasn't used to meeting new people. My teachers encouraged me to try to make new friends."
The transition program partners with community non profits like Goodwill's Work Experience, getting kids ready for the real world.
"She became more outgoing. She thought more for herself," Kourtney's grandmother, Adrian Smoot said. "I can just see her without this program. No she would just be another, just another person out there lost."
Most of all, besides the confidence, it's given Kourtney the opportunity to find a future.
"I can handle a lot of things on my own," she said.
Now the program is getting ready to send the students to a conference, designed for individuals like them.
"They work with employers all around the United States to provide them with state of the art strategies to work better with adults with disabilities," Stephanie Goodrich, a special education teacher with the program said.
Organizers say it costs about a thousand dollars for each student to make the trip. It's something that most of the students in the program, which rely on free or reduced lunch, can't afford. They're asking the community for help.
To donate, Goodrich says you can email her at Stephanie.goodrich@ops.org. Donations can also be made at any Wells Fargo branch for the Omaha School Foundation Transition Program Crew designation, or online here.
