FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- (Oct. 9, 2015) Tilley Warren is a young man with big goals.
An active member of the Grace Episcopal Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, he wants to travel the world and visit grand, historic cathedrals at each stop.
"I would like to go on big trips," Warren said. "I would like to go to England, because the Episcopal Church came from England. "The oldest Episcopal church in America is in Hampton, Virginia."
Of course Warren, a member of Fort Campbell's Exceptional Family Member Program, knows that to realize his dream, he will need money. And to make money, he will need a job. On Tuesday afternoon, he was at the Family Resource Center to participate in Fort Campbell's first Special Needs Job Fair. The innovative event was the result of a two-year collaboration between the Army Community Service Exceptional Family Member and Employment Readiness programs.
"We always get calls about individuals getting out of school, seniors wondering what is their next step," said Ann Brown, EFMP program coordinator. "We also get calls from job coaches and different agencies. They want to know what's out there for our population."
Brown then contacted Kristen Geist-Hodgkins, program manager of the Employment Readiness Program, to discuss a partnership.
"It came up in one of the EFMP advisory council meetings, that theirs was a population that needed to be serviced as far as job opportunities go," said Geist-Hodgkins. "Talking to Ann, we discussed having an event to address the needs of that population."
More than 16 agencies from on post and throughout the surrounding communities participated in the job fair, providing job opportunities and educational resources for individuals in the Exceptional Family Member population.
"The special needs arena for ACS Fort Campbell EFMP is anything from physical, mental to intellectual disabilities," said Tresca Ramtahal, EFMP coordinator. "That whole gamut we cover. Any person that falls within that realm, we provide them with information and resources."
Ramtahal explained that the job fair was especially important for Exceptional Family Members going through periods of transition, be it a transition from military to civilian life or graduating high school and becoming part of the adult world. While each individual is different and faces unique challenges, Ramtahal said there is one thing they have in common -- a desire to be a contributing member of society.
"We all want to feel like we're giving back in some sort of way," she said. "A person might have a special need or disability, but we don't focus on that. Everyone, no matter what level of ability, can bring something to the table. We want to see what that ability is and how we can bring it forward."
To help achieve this goal, EFMP and ERP reached out to agencies with like-minded goals -- agencies such as the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
"I think there are a lot of services that they might not be aware of," said Ashley Hadden, a vocational rehabilitation counselor at the center. "Having these job fairs really brings these services to light."
Hadden said that the center provided a variety of services, including on-site job coaches for people with severe disabilities, technological aids and devices and employment preparedness training.
"We also have the Carl B. Perkins Vocational Training Center for people with disabilities," Hadden said. "They can go there and learn about things from cosmetology to automobiles. Then they can get certificates and enter the workforce with a skill. This is particularly of interest to the kids."
Geist-Hodgkins hopes that other agencies will learn of events like Tuesday's job fair and become involved.
"We would love for any businesses out there that may have openings for the special needs population to provide that information to the ACS employment office," she said. "We can post it and send it along to our EFMP population."
As for Warren, he already knows what he wants to do.
"I'm looking for a food service job either in Elkton, Russellville or Hopkinsville," he said. "I just want to learn how to cook and learn how to serve food and know the basics and safety."
"Tilley has been with us since he was a little boy, and he'll be turning 21 in November," Ramtahal said. "His mom was active duty when I first came to work here in 2003."
"My mom was getting ready to go to Kuwait," Warren added.
Forging relationships with Exceptional Family Members like Warren helps to drive agents of the program to continually look for ways to make their lives better and give them a sense of fulfillment.
"It is all about inclusion for our population," Ramtahal said. "We want our population to feel that no matter what aspect, they're included."
With events like the Special Needs Job Fair, Ramtahal said she is certain they can help with the inclusion process.
"Whether we reach one person or 100 people today, this event is a success because it's the first one we've had and we're super excited about that," she said. "Hopefully in the future years we can continue to partner up [with ERP] and this will be something on the calendar every year. We hope to get bigger and better, and to reach more people. That's the ultimate goal."
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