Name
Instructor
Course
Date
White Paper: Promise in Brevard
This paper takes a keen analysis of an organization known as Promise in Brevard. It is a nonprofit organization located in West Melbourne, Florida. The organization, formally known as Promise Inc., was founded in 2009, with the main aim of providing cost-effective and independent accommodation to adults with physical and cognitive disabilities. Currently, the society hosts 124 adults with special needs, aged between 19 and 60 years. Despite the community progressing well since its inception, a keen analysis shows that it suffers from inadequate resources to cater for all persons with disabilities in Florida. That fact arises from data concerning persons living with disabilities in the state. There are far too many than what Promise Inc. supports. Therefore, the paper suggests ways on which Promise Inc. can raise adequate resources to support the majority of people living with disabilities in Florida.
Background / Problem
Betsy Farmer founded promise in Brevard in conjunction with a group of young individuals known as “The Dream Team.” Betsy advocacy and concern for people with special needs began in 1985 when she bore a son Luke who had Down Syndrome (McCarthy 2019). She struggled to find a program for children with disabilities in the county. She went ahead to found the Space Coast Early Intervention Center in 1987, an institution that was inclusive for both children with or without disabilities. When Luke graduated from school, his mother could not find a favorable facility that could accommodate him. The challenge inspired his mother, who decided to establish a facility that would offer better and customized accommodation for young people living with disabilities. As a result, she founded Brevard Inc. in 2009.
Since its establishment, the organization has continued to live its dream of providing suitable accommodation facilities to young adults with disabilities. In 2014, it established the Promise in Brevard affordable housing community to offer holistic life to its residents (Leonard 2018). The critical problem facing this organization is the lack of adequate funds to accommodate the large number of young adults living with disabilities in the county. It hosts 124 young adults, yet there are so many of them in the county. According to data released by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1), 321,477 out of 2,393,471 students of ages 6 to 21 in the state of Florida live with disabilities. As an institution that was primarily formed to address this problem, it shows the organization is living below expectations. The key contributor to this problem is the lack of adequate resources to absorbs all the people with disabilities.
Over the years, the organization has rolled out several programs aimed at mobilizing resources to support its population. For instance, it founded the promise main campus in 2015, and the Promise Café Bakery in 2016, among others, that aimed to offer employment to Promisers hosted in the community (Promise in Brevard Website). These ventures generate income to support the organization; however, they are not enough to support the accommodation of more people into the facility. Data from Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1) show that children with disabilities age between 6 to 21 in the state account for 8.9 % of the entire state’s population as of 2011. Currently, such children are now young adults who should be accommodated in such facilities
Solution
To curb the problem of shortage of resources and help the majority of the people living with disabilities in the state, Promise in Brevard should diversify its means of attracting donations from well-wishers. Contributions should be expanded to accommodate people who would want to offer skills to the people living in the community. For instance, Florida Tech students should be at the forefront of supporting the organization. The majority of the people with disabilities are young adults, and it is upon the youths to come out and support their colleagues to live a dignified. The tech students in Florida, by giving back to the society, can volunteer to teach people living in the society technology skills, with such skills, they can secure gainful employment, leave the community, and create room for others. Despite the organization offering skills to its subjects, they are too general, like catering, cleaning, among others. Besides, the tech students can organize tours and events to raise more funds towards the organization. The youth have high social power and skills that can be used to rally the community towards supporting such organizations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite the Promise in Brevard living to its aspirations, there is a lot it is yet to do. Inadequate resources have hampered its goal of providing quality accommodation to young adults with disabilities. Despite the high number of people with disabilities in Florida, the organization only accommodates 124 of them, which is almost negligible compared to the total deserving cases. Therefore, to raise enough resources to address that challenge, the youths should be in the forefront to volunteer their skills and time to teach the people hosted in the facility. Specialized skills would make the people self-reliant, move out of the organization, and create room for other deserving cases.
Works Cited
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (2011). “Identification of children with disabilities.” https://www2.ed.gov/fund/data/report/idea/partbspap/2013/fl-acc-stateprofile-11-12.pdf
Leonard, Suzy F. (2018). “Promise in Brevard helps woman live her dream of independence despite challenges of autism.” Florida Today. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/13/promise-brevard-helps-woman-live-her-dream-independence-despite-challenges-autism/330875002/
McCarthy, John. (2019). Betsy Farmer, the visionary founder of Promise in Brevard, leaves the organization.” Florida Today. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2019/03/28/promise-brevard-founder-betsy-farmer-leaves-organization/3298919002/
Promise in Brevard Website. (2019). “It started with a dream.” https://promiseinbrevard.com/about-us/