Ability Beyond Receives National Recognition for Employment

We are thrilled to announce that Ability Beyond was honored with the 2015 Dartmouth Achievement Award from the Johnson and Johnson – Dartmouth IPS Learning Collaborative, in recognition of our dedication to assisting people with serious mental illness with finding employment, at the annual Johnson and Johnson – Dartmouth IPS Learning Collaborative meeting on May 27th in Berkley, CA.

Each year, Johnson and Johnson – Dartmouth IPS Supported Employment Center, which oversees the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) learning community, seeks nominations from State agencies across the nation for IPS programs which have succeeded at transforming their supported employment programs to include greater clinical integration and access for clients, improved systems of tracking, high fidelity scores, and increasingly strong employment outcomes.

Ability Beyond was one of two recipients of this award, selected from nominations from eighteen states/regions and three countries who participate in the Dartmouth IPS Learning Collaborative. We were nominated by Supported Employment Program Manager at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Linda Guillorn.

“Ability Beyond is well known and respected as an agency that does not give up on the people they serve,” said Linda Guillorn in her nomination for Ability Beyond. “They identify individual strengths, and work to find a strong match for both the individual and the employer; with their goal always being long term success. Ability Beyond ensures that staff are well trained and professional. Ability Beyond builds relationships throughout the community by exploring and learning about opportunities that might be a good fit for the people they serve.”

With more than three decades of experience, Ability Beyond’s positive track record in job training and placement and has helped thousands of people gain meaningful employment in the community while helping businesses to prosper by gaining dedicated, quality employees.

“We are delighted that our team has been recognized nationally for their DMHAS programs,” said Carrie O’Connell, Director of Programs and Services. “This is an incredible honor and a true testimony for their hard work and dedication!”