Building skills can change their world.

Since 2017 Achieve, Inc. provides paid work experience and job training for neurodivergent people (such as people on the autism spectrum) in Chaffee County and surrounding communities, enabling them to obtain and maintain meaningful employment.


The journey starts with becoming empowered.

The vast majority of adults on the autism spectrum are either unemployed or underemployed, with estimates ranging to as high as 90%. The need for meaningful programming and opportunities to develop job skills is extremely pronounced in Chaffee County and the surrounding areas. Outside of Achieve’s programs, job skills training for neurodivergent people is extremely limited in this area, particularly in light of Achieve’s target population which exceeds 1,000.

Achieve’s Job Skills Program has three primary goals:

(1) Provide neurodivergent community members access to meaningful work experience and job training that enables them to secure and maintain long-term employment, becoming contributing community members less reliant on government services;

(2) Provide community work-force development by offering job skills training to an underserved population; and

(3) Expose the general public to the abilities of the neurodivergent community through operation of a social enterprise providing direct community interface.

How Achieve makes a difference.


Little Engine Eatery Summer Jobs Skills Program
Details


Future Brick & Mortar Job Skills Program @ Jane's Place
Details


Achieve Social Outings
Details

Stories & Impact

"I hope to make it clear just how positive of an experience it was for [my son] to work with you over the summer. Having the job helped me to see a more mature, more responsible side of my [son]. He gained a newfound confidence that I have not seen in him before.”
- Parent of a Summer Job Skills Program Participant

“I really noticed a change in all the program participants throughout the summer. Overall, everything is smoother because they’ve learned how to cooperate and work together.”
– Summer Job Skills Program Mentor

"The program helped reduce my social anxiety”
– Summer Job Skills Program Participant

“I met one of Achieve’s program participants who is now working at a restaurant. He told me he wouldn’t have had the confidence to even apply for the job had it not been for Achieve’s program.”
– Community Member

"This is my first job and it really helped me ..."
– October 31, 2023 article in the Tenderfoot Times by Kendra Poplin

Impact: Historically, through surveys, we’ve determined that over 80% of participants have reported improvement in personal, social, and key job skills. Of the graduates Achieve has been able to track since 2017, 88% have been able to obtain meaningful employment. Significantly, only 58% of young adults (in their early 20s) with autism have ever worked, let alone obtained meaningful employment.



Connect With Us

Don’t let FOMO get you down! Confirm your name and email below to stay informed of what we’re doing:

Keep up with our events on social media
  

Mailing Address:
16417 CR 325
Buena Vista, CO 81211

Summer Food Trailer:
BV Heritage Museum
506 E Main St.
Buena Vista, CO 81211

info@achievelikeskills.org
719.395.4006

To request an occommodation to access materials, information, and/or services, please reach out!
© Achieve, Inc. dba Little Engine Eatery 2017-2023 | A registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 37-1860566