I have been in Jeremy Project for about six months now. I wasn’t very happy with my life when I joined Jeremy Project but through the months I’ve become more and more happy overall. I believe that is because Ms. Mary Catherine cares about each of us and wants to help us, groups are fun, and overall it feels safe. I have genuinely become so comfortable with my peers and the staff that work with me. I believe that is because I am learning from group. I’ve become very in tune with who I am and it’s all thanks to Jeremy Project. – Jaylen, Jeremy Project participant
The JEREMY Project is a program for those individuals aged 16-24 to learn skills needed to succeed in their adult life. The program is in remembrance of Jeremy, a Dauphin County individual who passed away at the young age of 22 from cancer. Jeremy struggled with mental illness and was in need of assistance transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. Jeremy’s unwavering love of life and determination for success were the inspiration for developing the program that exists today.
It is the hope that those individuals actively participating in JEREMY Project will eventually be able to demonstrate independence in adulthood. A brief example of skills that are taught through the program are resume writing, navigating new social situations in life, pursuing colleges of an individual’s choice, understanding money management skills, as well as navigating the community an individual resides in.
For an individual to be considered for JEREMY Project they must be aged 16-24 and actively receiving mental health case management services from Dauphin County Case Management Unit. In addition, the individual must display a need in at least two of the following program areas: Education, Employment, Community Life Functioning, and Socialization/Community Life.
Dauphin County has experienced a substantial increase in adolescents diagnosed with a serious mental illness in the past decade. These same adolescence should be given the opportunity to not only take advantage of the mental health services offered to them but to also work in conjunction with transition age services. It is the hope of JEREMY Project that a youth provided with a combination of these services will go on to have a successful and positive adult life and a sense of accomplishment for achieving independence.