Statements
Mission
Progress promotes independence, health, and happiness for people with disabilities and seniors. We support and guide people to direct their own goals and achieve the highest quality of life.
Background
Progress was founded in 1971 by a group of parents concerned about the future of their adult children with intellectual disabilities. Today, Progress is an industry leader, setting the bar for service providers in the field. In fulfillment of its mission, Progress has adjusted supports to accommodate and integrate individuals within the community. Progress offers what is known as the 'Supported Living Model' wherein one or two individuals with special needs are assisted in their activities of daily living by a companion provided by Progress. Currently, Progress serves approximately 250 people annually. Progress supports more than 70 individuals in homes across Middle Tennessee. Progress also offers Community-Based Day and comprehensive Employment Services. Participants in Community Day Services have the opportunity to experience the best our community has to offer by visiting museums, galleries, attractions, libraries, movies and malls, according to THEIR identified interests. The Employment Service program uses a multi-pronged approach to provide people with disabilities integrated, competitive, long-term employment. Project Search is a collaboration that provides 9-month internships for students, and for adults who have not been successful in securing long-term employment, ensuring that they are trained and job-ready at the completion of the internship. Currently Progress is collaborating in two different Project Search internship programs - one, a student model in collaboration with Metro schools, Embassy Suites, and Voc Rehab, and an adult-model program at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Ticket to Work is a collaboration with Social Security that provides individuals with varying disabilities with the resources they need to secure employment. Services that Ticket to Work provides includes resume preparation, interviewing skills, job search support, communication with prospective employers and benefits counseling. Progress also completed the Employment Center in 2020. In 2009, due to our extensive knowledge and experience assisting individuals with special needs, we extended our services to another vulnerable population in our community - senior citizens. The Senior Care program offers homemaker, personal care, respite care, transportation and sitter services in the home, hospital or rehab center. Today Progress is assisting approximately 70 seniors through these services.
Impact
*The Progress, social enterprise, SMART! "Scrap Made Art" opened in June 2014, and is a retail store (located at 2416 Music Valley Drive, Suite 106) selling reclaimed and donated items typically destined for the landfill that instead can be repurposed by a wide range of artist and craftspeople. Additionally SMART! provides viable employment for Progress clients. SMART profits will help underfunded services for Progress Inc. *Expands employment services as a Ticket to Work Employment Network through the Social Security Administration and collaborate in Project Search employment program. Current year: *increase community awareness of SMART. *Expand private pay service in our Senior Services division to equal those served through Choices and Options programs. *Collaborating with Metro Schools, Embassy Suites, and Voc Rehab in Project Search. *Collaborating with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in adult-model Project Search cohorts.
Needs
*Excellent recommendations for new Board members in these areas: the arts, senior services, senior or disability, music, business, and marketing. *Ideas for diversification of revenue streams that utilize our existing strengths. Program development is readily achievable with our existing expertise. The urgent need is for marketing strategies to be somehow underwritten, such as billboards and media advertising and to generate funding for long-term sustainability through cash reserves and endowment.
CEO Statement
Progress Inc. has traveled a long road, with many twists and turns along the way. To be successful, which we have been, we have had to remain flexible, creative, and optimistic. Changing our model of support from large congregate settings (group homes) to supporting people in 1-3 person residences and facilitating jobs within the community has taught us that change can be good. We have been instrumental in helping shift the momentum in the larger community from one of pervasive lack of awareness about who people with developmental disabilities are, to a place where neighbors and co-workers and community friends of the folks to whom we provide supports do know who they are, how they contribute, what they like to do, and what a significant value they add to lives of those with whom they interact. We train and retain a valuable workforce of employees who provide the direct supports to our folks. Over the last year, persons responsible for direct care from Progress and other providers completed more than 5000 hours of training, better preparing them to provide quality, compassionate and effective supports. We attempt to foster an atmosphere of respect, growth, effective communication, and responsible problem solving throughout the organization for employees and persons supported. The work that we do is important to the optimal functioning of the world and critical to the health, safety, well being, and happiness of the people who have entrusted these things to us.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Developmentally Disabled Services/Centers |
| Secondary Category: | Health Care - Home Health Care |
| Tertiary Category: | Employment - Employment Preparation & Procurement |
Areas Served
With offices centrally located in Nashville, Progress attempts to provide residential services keeping people in and around the community that they know, have been raised in, and whenever possible, close to existing family and friends.
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Williamson |
