Detroit’s first gallery for disabled artists launches crowdfunding campaign for new studio PASC is looking to raise $50,000 to complete its space in Library Street Collective’s Lantern campus By Randiah Camille Green on Wed, Jun 7, 2023 at 9:28 am Courtesy photo. PASC Artist DeRon Hudson working at the PASC Studio. A gallery dedicated to the…
(WXYZ) — A Wayne County Probate Judge recently made a historic decision. Instead of putting a Dearborn Heights woman under guardianship, he allowed her to retain her independence with something called Supported Decision-Making. If you’re put under guardianship, that means a court has declared you legally incapacitated. You lose the right to get married,…
By Courtney Conover – Here’s an undeniable fact of life:
No matter what you see on the surface, there is often more to the story.
Whether it’s the dutiful employee who, despite living out of her car, arrives to work day in and day out with a jovial disposition, or the understated gentleman who frequents the local diner every morning to take advantage of the senior special despite being a millionaire, the crux of the lesson remains the same.
You simply can’t judge a book by its cover.
Organizations are no different, particularly those that serve individuals with significant disabilities or cognitive issues. As the CEO of STEP (Services to Enhance Potential), Brent Mikulski is acutely aware of this, and bears witness to it daily.
Number of Employees: 1 55
Current Budget: $13.5 million
Staff retention at Services to Enhance Potential, a Dearborn-based provider of job training and placement services for people with disabilities and other mental health needs in Macomb and Wayne Counties, has outpaced national averages during the pandemic.
The artists attend STEP in Wayne County, Services to Enhance Potential. STEP focuses on a variety of skills for adults with disabilities and mental health needs, including workplace empowerment. SEE WXYZ LINK TO STORY
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STEP Thrift store may look like your average shop with cool finds ranging from home décor to clothing, but it’s a bit more special than the rest. STEP, which stands for Services To Enhance Potential, is a nonprofit in Wayne county that works with individuals with physical and mental disabilities, as well as severe mental…
Services To Enhance Potential held a grand opening event Nov. 12 for its newest STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center, and Progressive Art Studio Collective. The new donation center and studio are located side-by-side on Eureka Road in Southgate and replace the previous Southgate location on Dix-Toledo Road. READ MORE
Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), a nonprofit organization that brings employment and employment training to adults with developmental disabilities based in Dearborn, announced Brent C. Mikulski, its president and CEO, has been awarded the Incompass Michigan Apex Award for Transformational Leadership. (CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE)
Services to Enhance Potential is increasing its visibility Downriver in a big way, recently opening both a new thrift store and an art studio at the Southgate Shopping Center. Grand opening events were held Nov. 12 for the STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center, as well as its Progressive Art Studio Collective, located next door…
Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), headquartered in Dearborn, announced its president and CEO, Brent Mikulski, as the recipient of the Incompass Michigan Apex Award for Transformational Leadership at its virtual conference on Nov. 9. Incompass Michigan is a statewide network of human service providers committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, optimal independence, and engagement in…
Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), Dearborn, Michigan, announces its President and CEO, Brent C. Mikulski as Recipient of the Incompass Michigan Apex Award for Transformational Leadership at the virtual re:con conference on November 9, 2021. Incompass Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, is a statewide network of human service providers committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, optimal independence,…
Services To Enhance Potential (STEP) to host a grand opening event for its newest STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center, and Progressive Art Studio Collective (PASC), to date, on Friday, November 12, 2021, at 13705 and 13721 Eureka Road, (next door to each other in Southgate Shopping Center), at 10:00 AM. This new STEP Thrift Store and Donation Center replaced the Dix-Toledo…
DETROIT – If you take a visit to the Scarab Club in Detroit this month, there will be amazing local artwork. It’s all for sale and while something like this would look great in any home, its purpose is much greater than decorating any wall. “I am so amazed I have no words to explain…
PORTALS Curated by Michael Goe and M. Pofahl July 8 – August 29 Online Exhibition: https://www.progressiveartstudiocollective.org/collections/portals Participating Artists: Jotina Ballard, Jirard Bond, Jerri Burks, Dennis Cenzer, Latashia Culver, Robert Duncombe, Lawrence Evans, Eric Green, Ronald Griggs, Darlene Mahan, Micah Marek, Ivory McKinley, Keisha Miller, Scott Maciejewski, Khiry O’Neil, Alsendo Owens, John Peterson, Joselyn Rice, and Jeremy…
DETROIT – A new program is working to teach adults with developmental disabilities how to cook, shop for groceries and even train for jobs in the restaurant industry. Wayne County nonprofit Services to Enhance Potential prepares, trains, and places more than 1,400 adults with developmental disabilities in jobs with dozens of companies across Metro Detroit.…
Courtney Taylor, 37, is a former special education teacher, so when she partnered with Chelsea Gheesling, 36, to start a business, they both wanted to provide an enjoyable space of work for people who experience disabilities. So the pair started Bundled, a business that creates gift boxes with products from local businesses that they sell to companies and…
STEP was so honored to have Andrea Isom WXYZ from Channel 7 WXYZ Detroit interview STEP consumer, Hassan, at his job at FEAST Detroit yesterday in recognition of Developmental Disabilities Awareness month. Director of Employment and Training Services, Terey DeLisle, was also present, along with Co-Founder and Managing Director of FEAST Detroit, Amit Makhecha. If…
We are so excited that PASC is featured on Metromode today! Click here to read the entire article featuring all that PASC artists are up to! “Just like with any other artists’ studio, the PASC studio is here to help people find their artistic style,” says Anthony Marcellini, project lead for PASC. “In the studio, we’re not…
Your purchases can provide employment opportunities to an individual with disabilities! STEP is proud to be a production partner of CH Enterprise. The STEP Packaging Crews fill retail orders for a product of CH Enterprise called Cathole, a kit for cat owners to hide their kitty’s litter box behind a closed inside door. The crew…
STEP’s Progressive Art Studio Collective was featured on FOX 2 Detroit! Check out the entire news clip here at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvpACcHyuuE
STEP is honored to announce that STEP President/CEO Brent Mikulski has been appointed by Governor Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services. Brent Mikulski will be an amazing advocate! In response, Mikulski states, “I am honored to be recently appointed by Governor Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services.…
Services To Enhance Potential Services To Enhance Potential, or STEP, is based in Dearborn and provides support and services to nearly 1,300 people with disabilities and other mental health needs in Wayne County. One of the organization’s main goals is to increase the number of individuals with disabilities who are employed, self-employed, or volunteer in…
Bundled Founders Courtney Taylor and Chelsea Gheesling on their New Children’s Book “Happiness Is…” Courtney Taylor and Chelsea Gheesling, founders of local gifting company Bundled, are always looking for ways to grow their company’s mission: providing job opportunities to individuals with disabilities. So it’s fitting that their latest venture, a children’s book called, “Happiness Is…” did exactly…
Developmentally disabled hit hard with pandemic job losses When COVID-19 hit Michigan, one segment of the workforce was hit especially hard: people with developmental disabilities. Employment advocates in Michigan and across the country are working to overcome challenges amid the pandemic to keep their clients engaged in training and employed. They’re balancing the availability of jobs with…
TAKING STEPS TO COLLABORATE Consider this: we collaborate with office mates, we collaborate with competitors, we collaborate with friends. But, we give to non-profit organizations … our time, our financial resources. Imagine, for a moment, rethinking our relationship with philanthropy? Thinking differently, thinking in synchronicity, we’d make an even greater difference in terms of corporate altruism, employee…
Downriver thrift stores accepting donations again; some have fully reopened to shoppers, as well Brent Mikulski has a hunch that Downriver residents observing a safer-at-home lifestyles have spent plenty of time cleaning out closets, attics and drawers. Now, Mikulski figures, they are eager to bring piles of clothes and other items to donation centers and…
SERVICES TO ENHANCE POTENTIAL IS READY TO RESPOND TO ENHANCED NEED FOR EMPLOYEES Services To Enhance Potential (STEP) is a non-profit organization which provides supports and services to over 1,400 persons with disabilities and other mental health needs in Wayne County. STEP provides and supports a variety of employment and self-employment options including job training…
People Working with a Disability are Michigan’s Hidden Talent MiMfg Magazine June 2018 By Brent Mikulski • Services to Enhance Potential (STEP) There is a cluster in Michigan’s labor pool under the radar and hidden from the public eye, especially in manufacturing. They are trained, qualified, loyal, and focused on quality in getting the job…
Big corporations see the value of hiring people with disabilities, yet their chances of getting a job haven’t improved much. In 2017, 18.7 percent of persons with a disability were employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.7 percent. The unemployment rates…
