BlueCross awards $2,500 grant to Emory Valley Center
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) recently awarded Emory Valley Center in Oak Ridge a Community Trust Grant in the amount of $2,500 for their new Medicaid Alternative Pathways to Independence (MAPs) program.
MAPs provides enabling technology and skills to assist young people and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in creating networks in their communities that will eventually lead to employment and independent living, according to a news release.
“MAPs is instrumental in filling the gap in services offered to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By meeting young adults as they are transitioning out of high school, we can provide them with skills to help them live as independently as possible in the ways they choose,” said Emory Valley Center Community Innovation Director Miranda Kelley. “I’m eager to see the difference this service will make for the people we support.”
The grant will go to purchase supplies and various enabling technology devices that will assist in several areas, including remote supports/smart home technologies for independent living, mobile devices for community navigation and public transportation access, and employment software applications for job discovery.
BCBST's Community Trust is a fund set aside for supporting nonprofit organizations, state colleges and universities, and government agencies.
Emory Valley Center has been meeting the needs of people with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities in the East Tennessee community since 1955. This support reaches more than 3,300 people annually.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: BlueCross awards $2,500 grant to Emory Valley Center
