Skills Academy Vocational Center gets a $840,000 grant to help improve services in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- A Colorado Springs program is getting a boost to help more people with disabilities find jobs. The Skills Academy Vocational Center says their goal is to help each and every one of their students graduate and be independent, and they're making a huge impact on dozens of people with disabilities in the Pikes Peak Region.

The Skills Academy Vocational Center in Colorado Springs is a unique program that does vocational training for adults with disabilities and provides second chances to youth who have struggled to progress into adulthood.

In April, the group received an $840,000 grant through the Daniels Fund. 

That money will go towards the construction of two commercial kitchens, a cafe, and a food truck called 'Authentic Dogs' where students can earn a paycheck. 

"In the last year, we've placed 50 into jobs. And these are people that said they said would never work, you know, one with cerebral palsy that had limited use of an arm, known with sight limitations, autism, ADHD, undiagnosed mental health," said CEO and Founder, Randee Van Ness.

Scott Dobbs attended the Skills Academy in 2022 to learn computer skills. Prior to that, he never held a job. 

"It's been incredible. I started off not knowing much, and now I have an entire client called Small Acts of Kindness, where I do all their social media, Facebook and Instagram," said Dobbs.

And just like Dobbs, there are many others who have graduated and now hold full-time jobs. 

"I started off knowing almost nothing about Excel, Word, or PowerPoint. And now I'm taking over social media," added Dobbs.

The Skills Academy is also working to open another facility in Security-Widefield.