Relavent Training, Real Jobs, Real Pay
The engines that help drive the Freedom Village concept are the Project FREE Businesses. Our self-sufficient businesses will provide real employment opportunities for persons with disabilities as well as skilled positions for our communities at a time they are so desperately needed.
As one pillar of our mission and our vision of Freedom Village, we have developed Project FREE Businesses; actual operating businesses that will offer competitive paying supported and non-supported jobs and career opportunities in fields as diverse as culinary arts, horticulture and small engine repair. These businesses will be a key component of our state-of-the-art Project FREE Transition Program where students will receive hands-on-training to prepare for competitive employment. The Project FREE Business environment is designed to develop the confidence and skills for a high quality, balanced, independent life. The Business/Training Centers will be tailored to integrate with the communities we serve and are designed to be self-sufficient.
The key to sustainable independence for people with disabilities is the opportunity to earn a livable wage. In January 2010, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.8 percent compared with 70.1 percent for persons with no disability (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)). Nearly 424,000 individuals are earning sub-minimum wages, 74 percent of these workers are people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (Government Accountability Office (GAO)).
Project FREE stands firmly against sub-minimum wage pay for any working persons. Sub-minimum wages are exploitive and do not allow persons to live independent lives. At a time when some organizations are fighting against legislation that would require they pay minimum wage to their employees with disabilities, Project FREE is developing businesses which will never pay sub-minimum wages to any of its employees.
