New workforce experiences will be available for young adults with autism this summer through blending SMILE Biscotti, a 12-year-old private entrepreneurial venture, with Essential Piece Enterprise, a newly approved vendor for Arizona’s vocational rehab services and sister entity of Arizona Autism Charter Schools (AZACS).
Essential Piece Enterprises is a sister nonprofit of Arizona Autism Charter Schools and provides job and career-readiness programming for high school graduates on the autism spectrum.
Its Entrepreneurial Training Center houses four innovative businesses: a coffee shop, a silk screening/retail shop, a shipping/receiving store, and a tech repair/AV studio.
The workforce training programs at Essential Piece Enterprises are approved by Vocational Rehabilitation Services for clients who qualify.
SMILE Biscotti sells a wide variety of hand-made biscotti at its store at 17 E. Maryland Ave., Phoenix, and online at smilebiscotti.com.
Matt Resnik, 33, has been the inspiration and face of SMILE, which stands for Supporting My Independent Living Enterprise.
The business, created upon his graduation from high school, was designed to offer him and others on th autism spectrum meaningful, productive work opportunities.
“By transferring the business,” Matt’s father, Rob Resnick, said, “Matt and dozens of co-workers will develop and apply new skills, be afforded more job sampling opportunities and demonstrate for our community and customers everywhere their remarkable abilities and work ethic.”
“We’re excited to have more faces appearing throughout the SMILE operations, which is primed for expansion,” said Diana Diaz-Harrison, who founded AZACS because of her son, Sammy.
AZACS is the only tuition-free, public charter network in Arizona focused on the educational needs of students with autism.
It serves over 1,000 students through four campuses, two K-12 schools in Central Phoenix, one in the West Valley, the Tucson Upper Campus and a fully accredited online school.
The SMILE operation will be situated at 14th Street and Indian School Road, next to AZACS’s largest campus, which serves more than 500 families.
Essential Piece will utilize the school’s commercial culinary teaching kitchen along with its own café, mail center, computer lab and more to service all biscotti mail orders.
“We aim to change the high unemployment rate for adults with autism in Arizona and across the U.S. by raising the bar on outcomes and giving people everywhere something to smile about,” said Denise D. Resnik, Matt’s mom.
She co-founded the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) and is founder/CEO of First Place AZ.
“Matt mastered egg cracking, measuring and mixing long ago,” Denise said. “Now he’s applying his math and computational skills and taking on Excel spreadsheets with the support of Essential Piece.”
Essential Piece Enterprises is now enrolling students for summer and fall vocational rehab services.
SMILE is serving as one of many ingredients in the mix which includes community partners, such as UHAUL and Banner Health.
Among the services offered are work adjustment training, job training and career exploration services. Programs are individualized based on graduates’ job and career interests and strengths.
“Families like ours know it’s not easy to fill 168 hours of meaningful, productive activity every week for kids after high school graduation,” said Denise.
“Far too many transition from a learning environment to a couch and slide backward. We are not letting that happen!” added Diaz-Harrison.
For information. on the summer programs, email [email protected].