Developmental disabilities don't stand in the way of success for those in an innovative program.

On Saturday there was a graduation ceremony at the University of Southern Maine, but not quite the one you might have expected. It was the graduation of the third class of "Strive U," a non-profit group that has pioneered an effective, innovative approach to further education for those with developmental disabilities.

USM is one of five community partners that has helped to make this approach successful.

Strive U is an off-shoot of the work of Strive, formed in 1999 to provide support to teenagers and young adults with disabilities. Working largely with high schools in the southern Maine area, Strive developed a series of successful socialization programs for these young people.

Peter Brown, Strive's program manager, describes the decision to add Strive U as a natural extension of the other services, responding to the needs of the maturing students and their parents.

As one parent put it: "I wouldn't let myself think about those years (after high school) because there wasn't a lot of hope. Now the sky is the limit."

Strive U makes the sky the limit by offering a post-high- school residential program that combines education opportunity through USM's Certificate of Lifelong Learning and ongoing employment with the help of employment partner Talent Tree.

NOT EASY TO ACCOMPLISH

This is not an easy program to put together and make work.

Besides USM and Talent Tree, Maine's Department of Health and Human Services provides major funding for the staffing of the residential component of the program, the Portland Housing Authority provides housing vouchers to assist with monthly rent, and Norway Savings Bank offers low-interest educational loans to families for their student's tuition.

Strive U accepted its first class back in 2004. Although relatively new and enrolling small numbers of students, the program has been very successful.

USM recently completed a glowing independent assessment of the program. All of the program's graduates are competitively employed. The students and their parents give the program rave reviews. Eighty percent of the parents saw "major" improvements in their students.

I had the occasion to meet two of Saturday's graduates, Katherine Dutton and Tonya Sellick, at a recent community reception. Katherine is employed at MEMIC and Tonya at Emery Waterhouse. They previewed their graduation speeches for us.

Neither could have imagined two years ago that they would have the courage and ability to address a large audience. They were great. Their enthusiasm, determination and hope was heart-warming. They were clearly appreciative of the opportunity they had been given and are determined to make the most of it.

By the way, the program is cost-effective as well. Strive U reduces the amount of state funding necessary to support an individual with disabilities from an average of $45,000 a year to $5,000 per year. More importantly, as I witnessed with Katherine and Tonya, the program provides a way to an independent, productive life. What an opportunity.

As you might expect, there is significant interest in this program not just in other parts of Maine but across the country.

PROGRAM IS UNIQUE

As far as Peter Brown can ascertain, no other organization in the country has put together a program that combines the elements of residential living, post-secondary education and employment. He is fielding inquiries daily from around the country about Strive U's approach.

In Strive U we have yet another example of a grass-roots effort, developed locally, that addresses a major national need. The question is how to replicate this model in a way that can address that national need.

The model that comes to mind for me is Habitat for Humanity. Growing from its humble beginnings as a small group of volunteers building a few homes in rural Georgia, Habitat figured a way to replicate its intensely local model again and again across the country and now across the world.

Who knows if Strive U has such potential? Certainly they have overcome countless challenges to put together the many partnerships needed to make their program effective. It is a model that currently serves a small fraction of the need even here in southern Maine.

Nonetheless, we should all celebrate with the graduates of Strive U's class of 2008. They are changing the world one person at a time. That's a pretty good start.