The months of May and June are widely recognized as key times of transition, beginning with toddlers moving on from preschool to kindergarten, then from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, and from high school to whatever comes next in life. Is it postsecondary education at a college, university or trade school? Is it jumping directly into employment? Perhaps military service is beckoning. The choices can be dizzying. For individuals with disabilities and their family members—the question of what to do after high school looms even larger.

All through the formative early years and school age years, these young adults typically have been on a very guided, structured, and supported path. But once they reach a certain age (generally coinciding with the individual’s graduation from high school) the path forward is far less clear. Further compounding matters is the fact that many of the supports they had come to rely on are no longer available.

UCP can be a tremendous resource during these periods of transition. We offer a variety of transitional services and qualified staff who can help you choose the best path forward for you and your family. One of the most intriguing of these offerings is a four-person transitional residence for individuals who aspire to live on their own… but need some additional support to get there. Pathways Academy is a 9-18 month residential living option that prepares individuals with the knowledge, skills, and resources to live independently in the community.

June 6, 2023, marked another successful graduation from the Academy—celebrated in style with family, friends, staff and supporters. CONGRATULATIONS to Alexys, Nadia, Molly, and Olivia (shown below left to right) who just completed a significant step on their path to independent living… and are looking forward to what comes next.

Alexys, 24, is a 2017 graduate of Yellow Breeches Educational Center in Boiling Springs. She is on summer break from classes at Harrisburg Academy where she earned Honors recognition the past semester. Alexys is pursuing a degree in Interactive Media with the goal of one day becoming a video game designer. She is hoping to find an apartment as close to Harrisburg as possible in order to minimize her commute to/from school, but she wants to continue to live on the West Shore where she has more of an established support system. Alexys said her time at the Academy has been most helpful in improving her communication skills.

Nadia, 23, is a 2019 graduate of Cumberland Valley High School. She currently works as a cafeteria lady Monday through Friday at Ben Franklin Elementary School in Harrisburg. She is looking forward to going apartment hunting on the West Shore. Her goal in coming to the Academy was to learn the skills necessary to become more independent. She believes she’s done that, crediting the program staff with helping her most in the areas of cooking and cleaning. Her immediate goal is to get her own apartment, though she may live with a roommate down the road.

Molly, who just turned 26, is a 2016 graduate of Cedar Cliff High School. Since moving into the Academy, UCP’s Employment Services have worked with Molly to help her secure work at HomeGoods in Mechanicsburg, where she says she loves her job. She has begun the process of apartment-hunting in the Mechanicsburg-Camp Hill-Lemoyne corridor. She was originally given the choice by her father to move directly into a place of her own or to go through the residential living option at Pathways Academy first. Molly says without hesitation or any doubt, “I chose wisely.”

Olivia, 25, exercised her independence and her right to decline to be interviewed for this story, (although she posed for graduation photos with her former housemates). She was the first of the group to complete the Pathways Academy curriculum and has been living on her own in an apartment in downtown Camp Hill since the end of April.

In chatting with the young women prior to their graduation celebration, it was clear that they were each filled with a sense of expectation and excitement about the future. They were asked if they had any words of wisdom for someone who might read this article and consider Pathways Academy as a possible way forward in their own life. Nadia’s response encapsulated all of their thoughts: “We were all nervous at first. But it is an amazing program and an amazing opportunity. You can do this.”

In addition to a certificate of graduation, each of the ladies received a sterling silver keychain to be used when they move into their own homes. The keychains are engraved with this meaningful reminder:

Whenever you find yourself doubting how far

you can go just remember how far you have come.

Remember everything you have faced, the battles

you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.

The graduation of these four ladies brings to 20 the total number of individuals who have “learned and earned” their way to independence. Seventeen of the 20 are currently living on their own or with a roommate in the housing of their choice (or are in the process of finding and securing housing). A new group of residents will be entering the Academy come September. There is currently a wait list for applicants to be considered.

To learn more about UCP’s Pathways Academy, contact: Tyler Russell 717.737.3477, x575 // Tyler.russell@ucpcentralpa.org