The Corewell Health program launches young adults with special needs in a new direction

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Three days a week, Griffin Wright spends his day at Corewell Health Beaumont Grosse Pointe Hospital.

He is one of nearly a dozen volunteers participating in a program called LAUNCH.

“We feel the term LAUNCH really describes what happens to these young adults when they are here. It launches them in a new direction,” said Betsy Schulte, director of volunteers.

Schulte says the program is designed for unique students with special needs.

“The hope of this program is to help these young adults gain new skills and talents. Our vision for the program is to help them gain experiences in the working world to potentially learn what they would be good at, what they are interested in and what their skills are,” said Schulte.

Founded in September 2023, Griffin has been involved with LAUNCH since the beginning.

Each day, he and other volunteers in the program follow a schedule and are assigned different responsibilities for different departments in the hospital.

“They help make the beds, stock the rooms, bring water and other supplies to recovering patients. They also discharge patients after they have been trained. We also have them in imaging. Imaging is the area where the CAT scan/radiology, and they actually get back in the waiting room and work with the staff, bring patients back on stretchers, in wheelchairs, and they also monitor patients to see how they’re doing,” Schulte said. “We also have a partnership with the administration, and we have something called the caring cart, and it’s a cart that goes around the hospital, and we bring treats and things like that to the staff, and the volunteers who work in the LAUNCH program , go around the hospital, and there is such a warm welcome for them. They really fill this hospital with joy. We also have CPD, which is Central Processing, and some volunteers disinfect the equipment, and we also have the gift shop.”

Radiology is a department that particularly inspires Griffin.

“I really enjoy having the opportunity to learn everything and every time I come to work I have met nice people. My ultimate career that I want to pursue is a radiology technician,” said Griffin.

Programs like LAUNCH give people like Griffin opportunities like anyone else.

“I know when he comes in, there are so many other people who believe in him. They’ve given him so many opportunities, so much acceptance,” said Griffin’s mother, Regen Wright.

It is the friendliness of the staff and the impact these volunteers have on everyone they meet that makes this program a success.

“We’re on the trail of something so powerful, and what I’ve seen happen to these young adults is life-changing. I’ve looked where they come in, and they barely look you in the eye, and within three to six months they walk away.” around the hospital as if it were their property,” Schulte said.

“Growing up, he always had a label. Here there are no labels. They see the person and that’s… that’s great,” Regen said.

The hospital plans to recruit a few more volunteers and hopes to expand the program to other Corewell hospitals.

If you are interested in applying for the LAUNCH program, please email Betsy Schulte at betsy.schulte@corewellhealth.org.