OUR STORY

The Vocational Training Center has been proudly serving our community since 1973. What began as a small school for adults with disabilities has grown into a dynamic, person-centered organization focused on building confidence, independence, and opportunity.

In our early years, the Center operated as a traditional sheltered workshop, providing adapted work such as servicing Bell phones and hands-on assembly tasks. While meaningful for its time, we recognized the need to evolve alongside a changing world and a growing understanding of what true inclusion and opportunity can look like.

In 2020, the Vocational Training Center transitioned to an ESSP service model, placing life skills, employment skills, and individual growth at the heart of everything we do. Today, we support adults through hands-on programming designed to meet people where they are, while helping them move forward with purpose and confidence.

We have proudly developed social enterprises, including our rag-cutting initiatives and the Second Chance Online Thrift Store, creating real-world learning experiences while generating sustainable support for our programs. These enterprises reflect our belief that meaningful work builds pride, connection, and opportunity — not just within our Center, but throughout the wider community.

For many of the adults we support, the Vocational Training Center is more than a program — it is a second home. It is a place where meals are shared, friendships are built, and people are seen, valued, and encouraged. Our environment is rooted in care, respect, and a family-style approach that nurtures both individual growth and a strong sense of belonging.

Our staff are compassionate, dedicated professionals who bring heart, patience, and joy into their work every day. They are deeply committed to offering quality guidance, celebrating successes (big and small), and creating moments that bring genuine smiles to the faces of those we support.

As community living continues to move forward in positive and empowering ways, the Vocational Training Center remains committed to growing with it. Building innovative social enterprises and meaningful employment opportunities is more important than ever — not only to sustain our organization, but to open doors for the adults we serve.

At the Vocational Training Center, we choose to focus on what is possible.

We believe in “we can.”

And every day, we continue to grow — where potential blooms.