Four programs working together to build friendships, skills, and inclusive communities.
You're With Us! programs work together to support individuals and create inclusive communities by connecting college students with young adults with disabilities to build meaningful friendships and experiences.
Peer mentor connections that build life skills, confidence, and social inclusion.
Explore the DEN and CLUB settings, compare support options, and follow the intake process.
Meet the CLUBCampus outing experiences that create a safe space for social and life skill development.
Community events and partnerships that fuel our mission and expand impact.
Throughout schooling, participants get a lot of support. Once they graduate high school, many of those supports disappear. You're With Us! helps fill that gap with support and new opportunities.
By pairing each mentee with a peer mentor according to personal needs and preferences, the program creates an individual-based learning experience, forms relationships, and builds a sense of belonging.
Mentors and mentees work on life skills like public transportation, budgeting, and grocery shopping, and practice social skills like conversation, active listening, and conflict resolution. Mentors are selected through interviews and represent sports teams, arts, computers, and other campus groups, while campus coordinators help participants find the right match.
Pairs are selected based on shared interests and hobbies.
YWU staff help maintain connections and build trusting relationships.
Participants develop a PED and long-term goals with their mentors.
Increases social inclusion on college campuses and in the community.
Expands exposure to new environments and activities.
Builds social skills, communication, confidence, and independence.
Each individual is unique, so the mentoring program focuses on each person's pace, preferences, and interests. Mentees learn, practice, and explore at their own speed with encouragement and company.
Mentors gain experience communicating with groups, negotiating with school departments, and planning activities. Along the way, they build socializing, time management, organizational, and leadership skills.
The CLUB is a small, supportive Community Based Day Support (CBDS) setting where participants can strengthen their independence, explore employment, and build connections around shared interests.
With up to eight participants, the CLUB offers a more personalized experience in a community-focused atmosphere. Programming is designed for people who already do many things independently and want to keep developing practical, social, and employment skills.
Looking for employment opportunities, shared interests, or simply a place to connect with others? The CLUB team will help you identify goals and decide whether the CLUB or DEN is the right setting.
Explore interests, prepare for work, and pursue employment that fits each participant's skills and goals. Employment supports may be added through a separate service contract but are not required to attend.
Practice independent living, community navigation, health and wellness, career exploration, and use of local public transportation or the Uber training program.
Connect with peers and mentors through structured, relaxed campus experiences that make room for shared interests, social interaction, and meaningful relationships.
Salem CLUB participants build confidence through community experiences, shared interests, and opportunities to try something new.
Both programs build practical skills, community connection, and social growth. The intake team helps each participant and family choose the setting that best matches current goals and support needs.
Community Learning & Understanding Business
Develop. Engage. Navigate.
The same intake process applies to the DEN, the CLUB, and participants joining a waitlist.
Connect with the CBDS team to schedule a tour of the DEN or CLUB.
A DDS service coordinator sends the referral packet, and the YWU team reviews the records for program fit.
Join the program for a commitment-free day to experience the group and activities. Transportation and lunch are required.
Complete the health, consent, release, and support forms provided by the CBDS team. The service request is submitted after the packet is complete.
Meet virtually to review paperwork, transportation, protocols, communication, support needs, and the official start date.
Start the conversation. Our team will help you understand the options during intake.
You're With Us! has implemented the Mid-Day Program in both Boston and North Shore regions. This newer program started on-campus programming at several college campuses and initiated activities with high-school transition programs.
We facilitate activities based on personal needs, interests, and pace while building a community where individuals can become more adaptive to group work. We envision this program continuing to grow with more participants as the program expands.
During the mid-day school break, the North Shore team takes participants to college campuses to reset for the rest of the day. After lunch, students split into small groups based on interests and meet peer mentors, attend group activities, and explore campus resources. Activities include art therapy, gym time, hiking, walks, and visits with college service dogs, plus picnic days, field days, and classroom days.
Implemented in spring 2023, the Boston program offers campus outings for high school special education students. Groups meet on campus, have lunch, and take tours with college students.
Your generous support is critical to our goal of creating a better life for individuals in the YWU community. We rely on donations to foster social inclusion opportunities like sports teams, college groups, and peer mentoring, and partner with the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism to raise funds for the organization.
We encourage YWU friends and families to attend fundraising events, donate, support, learn more about our work, and have fun. For more information or to attend a fundraiser, visit Upcoming Events or donate here.
The 24th annual Flutie 5K is a community experience of fun, inclusion, and celebration. You're With Us! is excited to enter our third-year partnership with the Flutie Foundation and hopes to see the YWU community come together to run, walk, or roll.
A signature event that brings supporters together on the course.
Community teams compete while supporting inclusive opportunities.
A night to honor participants, mentors, and supporters.
Join our community of families, mentors, and supporters creating inclusive opportunities.