Ten people graduated from 9-month internship program Project SEARCH Arkansas today at an event hosted by Mercy Hospital Fort Smith.

The program is an ACCESS Initiative in partnership with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, trains young adults with developmental disabilities for competitive employment opportunities. Interns in the program complete internship rotations with Mercy Fort Smith to gain hands-on experience and find jobs.

Director of Project SEARCH Arkansas Rebekah Seljan says she hopes this program can change these interns’ lives.

After finishing the program, the staff offers the graduates help finding jobs within the community and ongoing support throughout the employment period. Five of Fort Smith’s ten graduates have already found jobs.

“A job is so much more than a paycheck,” Seljan said. “Having them put the hard work in is just a dream, it’s just a dream come true.”

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