By Tess Brown
Horizon Community Foundation
Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky is grateful for the many nonprofits that support and strengthen our community. We are actively reaching out to these organizations to listen to their stories in order to share them with you. This is an ongoing project that will cover many organizations across Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties. Here is New Perceptions’ story. Part of a series.
It’s a bright building with vibrant blue and yellow at the corner of the 3L highway and Dudley Pike in Edgewood.
The bright colors reflect the atmosphere of the inside, too.
The cheerful administration staff is there to greet you at the door, and energetic Executive Director Shawn Carroll is happy to show guests around the entire building.
He knows that once someone visits, they understand New Perceptions.
For more than 65 years, New Perceptions has offered services that empower children and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to meet their maximum potential.
For children ages birth to three, New Perceptions offers physical, occupational, and/or speech therapy, as well as a summer program to prepare them for success in school. Adults have a variety of programs to help them grow, and more than 500 are served each year through the Work Center, Supported Employment, and Learning Center programs.
In the center of New Perceptions’ office is a large, open space where more than 100 adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities are gathered to assemble and package items for various companies. This is The Work Center program. The work here is consistent, light, and open, with participants choosing their schedule, as well as the music that fills the air.
Close to 400 additional New Perceptions friends are out in neighborhoods, working various jobs through the Supported Employment program. The Supported Employment program works one-on-one with participants to learn more about their strengths and goals, and works with them to build skills to best succeed on the job.
The McDonald’s that sits just down the hill from New Perceptions is one partner, operating as a training center for participants. Other partners include Amazon, Thomas More College, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Kroger, and more.
The second floor of the building is home to The Learning Center. Here, a bright, engaging environment welcomes adults with limited independence to participate in learning activities, art, recreation and more. This program strives to bring maximum potential for independence while promoting social connection and education.
You can review their annual report, review their numbers, but the best way to really grasp the impact of New Perceptions is to visit.
Shawn would be happy to show you around.
In the meantime, visit them at their website.
The Northern Kentucky Tribune is partnering with Horizon Community Foundation to bring you these profiles of local nonprofits.