Helping Adults Turn A New Leaf

A New Leaf, Inc. finds full-time employment for adults with developmental disabilities.

Hannah Scott found full-time employment at Inola Public Schools with the help of A New Leaf.

Currently, in the Tulsa metropolitan area, there are approximately 24,000 individuals with a developmental disability. Unfortunately, only 1,000 of those individuals are employed, which means the remaining 23,000 individuals are sitting at home isolated from society and the ­community in which they live. A local non-profit, A New Leaf, is on a mission to change that startling statistic and get individuals with developmental disabilities employed in their communities at a competitive wage.  

    Each day, the service provided to individuals with developmental disabilities from A New Leaf transforms each individual’s life and allows them the opportunity to contribute to their community, form a peer group, and be a productive member of society. Hannah Scott, a lifelong resident of Inola, earned employment at a competitive wage as an administrative and janitorial assistant at the Inola Public Schools. Hannah started receiving vocational services from A New Leaf right out of high school. Through the DRS/Vocational Rehabilitation program, Hannah worked diligently to develop skills and traits to earn full-time employment after one year of vocational services at A New Leaf. Currently, Hannah works with an employment consultant in order to learn the ins and outs of her job. After three months, Hannah will no longer need the assistance of her employment consultant, and she will be working independently.

    Hannah has a variety of duties at her job. She washes windows, mops floors, cleans restrooms, and performs administrative duties in the office. When asked what Hannah loves most about her job, she said, “I love working at Inola Public Schools because I attended and graduated from Inola.” Hannah also stated that she is saving her money to achieve a goal of attending Georgia State University in Atlanta.

    Mary C. Ogle, Chief Executive Officer of A New Leaf, and her staff could not be more proud of Hannah. “Hannah’s story is why we do what we do at A New Leaf. Hannah is proof that individuals with developmental disabilities are educated and equipped to perform any job and desire employment, just like you and I do,” she said.

    A New Leaf, a Tulsa Area United Way agency, provides individuals with developmental disabilities with marketable job training through horticultural therapy, community-based vocational placement, and residential services to increase their independence and individual choices. Nearly 100 individuals receive vocational services from A New Leaf every day.

    Individuals work at A New Leaf’s six greenhouses growing and cultivating plants from seedlings, two public retail garden centers working on the register, selling plants, and interacting with customers, or on wholesale routes where individuals have the opportunity to sale plants to area florists. In addition, individuals also operate and work on janitorial crews in the community, provide plant maintenance to area ­businesses, and work at area businesses in the community such as hotels, churches, daycares performing a variety of services. A New Leaf is located at 2306 S. 1st Place in Broken Arrow.  

    Founded in 1979, A New Leaf, Inc. provides ­programming in a greenhouse environment serving as a vocational training center for adults with developmental disabilities. A New Leaf, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization funded by sales to the public, Tulsa Area United Way and private ­contributions.

For more information, contact

A New Leaf, Inc.

www.anewleaf.org