Josh Fields was just 16 years old when he was struck by the realization that teens with intellectual disabilities had few, if any, options for their futures once they graduated from high school.
That didn’t sit well with the Central Bucks South High School student. “I was infuriated,” said Fields. “I always grew up around kids with disabilities and one of my best friends has Down Syndrome. I kept asking, what can we do?”
In 2015, he, along with his friend, Richard Price, co-founded The Next Step Programs and, by 2018, the small nonprofit was serving 11 young adults in Bucks County. Today, that number has grown to 75, in the greater Philadelphia region, said Fields.
In May, the organization will move from a rented church hall in Jamison to a larger, more permanent home at 204 N. West St. in Doylestown Borough. “We’re very excited,” Fields said.
While almost all the furniture has been donated, individual, corporate and business sponsors are needed to help support the TNS mission, he noted. To learn more, write to info@tnsprograms.org.
TNS provides programs on social skills, independent living, career exploration, entrepreneurism, cooking, fitness and healthy living. It also works with employers, helping businesses learn how those with cognitive differences, such as autism, Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy, can be excellent employees.
The programs are offered for a minimal fee, but provided regardless of a family’s ability pay, Fields said.
“We want to help get young adults with disabilities out of the ‘three Fs’ – food, filth and flowers jobs – that are low-paying and have low job satisfaction,” said the co-founder and CEO. “We’re thinking creatively.”
Next Step helps individual with a disability and their families transition from high school into a world of employment and community access, Fields added.
“I like going on Wednesday’s to learn social skills and to talk about my weekend with my friends,” said Erin Campbell, who attends TNS programs.
And, her mother, Denise Campbell, added, “TNS has been such a great help to us during Erin’s transition from high school. Learning everything from social skills to money and independent living skills has been crucial to her transition.”
“The world is changing,” said Fields. “It’s becoming more accepting of those with disabilities.”
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