Proyecto Vision, the first national technical assistance center for Latinos with disabilities, was established to provide services to employers, service providers, and jobseekers to address barriers to Latinos effectively utilizing disability services and connecting to work. Since 2001, Proyecto Vision developed an infrastructure to provide positive employment outcomes for Latinos with disabilities by bridging the culture/language gap and creating culturally appropriate responses to the group’s particular needs and by providing role models and mentors. 

In 2008, Proyecto Vision shifted its focus to Latino and other youth with disabilities from underserved populations, ages 16 – 35, so they may successfully transition from school to higher education and attain sustainable independent living and employment outcomes. Funded by the AT&T Foundation, the Verizon Foundation and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the program is using popular youth-friendly Internet sites and blogs to inspire our target population with short video clips of Success Stories and will recruit Latino and other youth with disabilities from underserved populations into our ongoing and highly successful Emerging Writers Program, part of the project’s leadership development initiative.

Proyecto Vision’s program includes a website (www.proyectovision.net) featuring news, resources and opportunities for scholarships/internships/jobs; an electronic newsletter that highlights success stories about Latinos with disabilities who found employment; a listserv that allows readers to interact with others facing similar issues; a Facebook page; and Success Story video clips posted on YouTube.

For more information, contact Gabriel Many, Project Coordinator, at gabriel@wid.org.