About our Vocational and Rehabilitation Program
“Our Mission is to help individuals with neurological impairments achieve self-sustaining lives by offering remedial, transitional employment and facilitating their integration in the community.”
Eloise Newell, Founder and Director
Restoration Project is an award-winning nonprofit vocational rehabilitation program serving adults and adolescents with mental illnesses and brain injuries. More than 300 individuals have participated in our program since we began in 1993.
Our participants principally include adults with mental illnesses and brain injuries, high school students with special needs, and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries.
They join us on a private pay basis by self-referral and with the encouragement of their therapists and residential counselors. They may also come with referral and funding by the Mass Rehabilitation Commission and the Department of Secondary Education.
Methodology
Participants apprentice two days a week in our furniture finishing and upholstering shop. Our staff and volunteers work closely with each person to foster self-esteem, social skills, motor skills, and transferable work skills. These skills prepare program participants for competitive employment and interacting with others. They help participants go on to enjoy meaningful, fulfilling, and self-sustaining lives.
Working with furniture is especially suited to these goals because the work feels meaningful and participants can take pride in the results. The training methods we use are based on education and therapy models—adult education, Montessori method, and cognitive behavior therapy—that improve cognitive functioning, counteract the deficits caused by neurological disorders, and facilitate recovery.
The program is challenging because it requires the learning of new skills. It is also highly rewarding because the participants take pride in their accomplishments and new-found skills. Our employment specialist works with participants from the start to identify their strengths and values to tailor their job search.
Resale Store Apprentice
Working in our adjacent resale store is typically the second step in preparation for competitive employment. Participants engage in every aspect of retail operations including receiving and processing donations, displaying and selling merchandise, and interacting with customers and donors.
Becoming Part of the Community
Community involvement is an important part of our program. Interaction with donors, customers, and volunteers gives our participants a context that helps develop the social skills and confidence to integrate into their new work environments and communities.
Finding Competitive Employment
Once a participant is identified as ready to move on from the program to a competitive employment environment, we provide employment assistance.
Our employment specialist helps participants identify employment tailored to their interests and abilities using interest and aptitude testing, individual counseling, pre-employment role- playing, and job-search assistance. Post-employment support is also provided as needed.
Staffing
Restoration Project is a WMBE-certified woman- operated business. Our dedicated staff and volunteers are supervised by Eloise Newell, founding director and Robert Young, resale store manager.
Our director is a former teacher and a certified peer specialist trained by National Transitions Centers as a peer supporter and advocate for individuals with mental illnesses, and an agent for system change. She has extensive experience working with individuals with mental illnesses.
We have hired and will continue to hire participants of the program, demonstrating our regard for individuals with disabilities and the importance we place on peer counseling.
Our skilled woodworkers, finishing, and upholstering teachers are volunteers from the community as are many in the retail program. Students from area high schools fulfill community service requirements by working in our store.
Enrollment
For more information about participating in Restoration Project’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program, please email us or call our director, Eloise Newell at 617-489-1000.
If you do not reach us directly, be sure to leave a phone number, a brief summary of your background and interests and the best time to reach you.
We rely on community volunteers and financial contributions to fulfill our mission of recovery and reintegration for individuals with mental illnesses and brain injuries.
Contact us to learn more about making a financial contribution to our vocational rehabilitation program. Fully 100% of your donations go directly to help sustain the program.
Learn more about rewarding volunteer opportunities in our vocational rehabilitation program.