Miami’s WOW Center helps adults with disabilities find purpose, employment

The WOW Center in Miami empowers people with disabilities through music, art, culinary programs, therapies and social services. It’s also helping its members break into the workforce.

Nicolas Penton, 26, proudly calls himself a “mulch master.”

“I’m doing mulching. I’m doing really good at this because it’s easy for me,” Penton said. “Like putting the dirt in the wheelbarrow and spreading mulch on the ground in the garden.”

He is part of the crew tending gardens at Empower Farms in Florida City, a job he landed with the help of Jessica Medina, an Internship Employment Job Coach at the WOW Center.

“We always assess our members to find their skills and capabilities so we can place them in jobs where they can grow, evolve and achieve their potential,” Medina said.

She described Penton as hardworking, collaborative and dedicated to reaching his goals.

“Nick is brilliant,” Medina said. “When he sets goals for himself, he loves to achieve them.”

Creating opportunities and independence

The WOW Center’s mission is to help adults with disabilities gain financial independence, improve their quality of life and contribute meaningfully to society. The organization currently has multiple members employed across Miami-Dade County.

“(It’s) important for me to have this job like an adult,” Penton said. “(It’s) important for me to do all the things I need to do, like mulching.”

Penton has been working at the farm three days a week for a year now, giving him a sense of passion and purpose.

“It makes me feel good to have this job,” he said.

Expanding impact

The WOW Center recently received a grant from Bank of America, allowing it to double the number of clients it serves to meet the growing need in Miami-Dade County.

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