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Sponsor Spotlight: Services To Enhance Potential
Changing lives one step at a time
For over 53 years, Services To Enhance Potential has provided services to individuals with developmental disabilities and other mental health needs in Southeast Michigan.
Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, STEP is a non-profit organization that brings employment and employment training to 1,400 adults throughout Wayne, Washtenaw, and Macomb counties with resource centers located in Dearborn, Detroit, and Westland. Since 1972, STEP has provided the most strategic and effective specialized programs and services in its industry. STEP programs include What’s Cooking at STEP, an award-winning culinary arts program; a Progressive Art Studio Collective program with three studios and gallery; three STEP-owned and operated Thrift Store & Donation Centers; employment training services; volunteer opportunities; and classroom learning experiences, among others.
STEP’s Culinary Arts Program, What’s Cooking at STEP, helps prepare members for careers in the food service industry by learning food safety, customer service, and preparing delicious dishes. Located in Westland and Detroit, these classes allow members to explore the art of cooking in a community-based setting. To provide an authentic learning environment, meals are prepared with the assistance of our skilled instructors.
STEP’s Advanced Culinary Arts class is a hands-on, 12-week course (two days per week) designed to prepare STEP members for careers in the food service industry. Participants will gain essential skills in ServSafe Food Handler’s safety, knife techniques, food preparation, proper hygiene, customer service, and teamwork while assisting with meal prep and clean-up. This program provides real-world experience in a supportive setting, helping individuals build confidence and employable skills.
The Progressive Art Studio Collective (PASC) is an art and design studio and gallery program of STEP, located in Detroit, Southgate, and Westland. PASC is dedicated to supporting adults with developmental disabilities and mental health needs to advance individual career paths in the art and design fields. Founded in 2021, PASC is the first progressive art studio in Wayne County, Michigan, bringing focus to the artistic talent, expression, and life experiences of adults with disabilities, making a considerable change in their lives.
STEP’s Employment and Training Services Department promotes employment opportunities by providing job development, placement, training,
and coaching. Employment and Training Services include:
• Benefit-2-Work Coaching: STEP assists individuals receiving state benefits and explains how they can have gainful employment and whether it would affect any benefits being received.
• Job Development/Placement: Dedicated Employment Representatives work with jobseekers to develop an individualized plan for employment and prepare for competitive integrated employment opportunities.
• Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS): Pre-ETS programming prepares first-time and newer jobseekers for the transition from secondary education to the world of employment.
• Project SEARCH: STEP partners with Project SEARCH to give students who are currently enrolled in a public school an opportunity to spend their last year of high school in a hybrid classroom and worksite environment. This service permits the student to graduate with one full class year of work experience in a field that is of interest to them. Our current program includes a partnership with Corewell Health. This host site permits a student to experience a variety of work experiences during the student’s final year of education. With a job placement rate of over 80%, the program can be quite beneficial for its participants.
• Skill Building: This training opportunity offers jobseekers a way to experience jobs and learn critical skills required to obtain and maintain employment while earning a wage.
• STEP Thrift Store and Donation Centers: STEP owns and operates three Thrift Stores to provide paid job training in retail and related fields in Dearborn Heights, Southgate, and Wayne. Opportunities at the stores include work trials, paid work internships, worksite evaluations, and longer-term employment as Retail Clerks. Each of these opportunities is designed specifically to provide the level of experience and training necessary for success and lead to employment.
Summer Earn & Learn: This program is a partnership between Michigan Rehabilitation Services/Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and STEP.
The Summer Earn & Learn Program consists of six weeks of paid on-the-job experience at a community work site with the support of a Skills Trainer. In addition to working in the community, this program also includes virtual classroom sessions centered around soft skill development, workplace expectations, industry-specific support and more. Participants will learn the skills they need to be successful in the workplace and earn at least minimum wage while doing so.
• Supported Employment: STEP’s Employment and Training Services Department works diligently to provide ongoing support services to new jobseekers and to develop meaningful partnerships and opportunities with community employers.
• Vocational Rehabilitation: STEP partners with Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) to offer a variety of job readiness, job development and placement services, including Trial Work Experiences, On-the-Job Evaluations, and Vocational Assessments.
OUR VALUES
• Respect for all individuals with whom we come in contact
• Empowerment and choice for all individuals
• Excellence in all that we endeavor to achieve
• Commitment to those we support and to one another
The STEP community strives to help others reach their goals and full potential in all areas of life. Together we’re Changing Lives One STEP at a time. For more information about Services To Enhance Potential, please visit www.stepcentral.org.
