After many years of teaching in South Bay, Johnathan King felt he had a calling to continue supporting individuals with disabilities, which is why he established a program designed to be a haven for young adults with disabilities over 18 years old, Empower Pathways Community Adult Day Program, cofounded with his father John King.
Growing up in Chula Vista, King went to Bonita Vista High School, big into sports, and after college decided to work in education, earning his teaching credentials from SDSU in Physical Education, going on to earn his master’s degree.
“Working in the school system, I saw there was a need after high school for these young adults with disabilities,” he said. “My dad has been a teacher in the Chula Vista area about 25 years, and he was seeing this need as well in the community. Many of these young adults had nowhere to go after high school after graduating from the system. I have a passion for this. I ran the Special Olympics at my site in the district.”
That is when King decided he could start a program for these young adults to help them thrive, empower them to pursue whatever avenue of life they chose.
“It took about two years to come up with the Empower Pathways Community Adult Day Program. What we specifically focus on is about five things. Indoor and outdoor activities. We want to make sure that they have some sort of activity every day, but also challenging them cognitively. We are doing puzzles, asking them questions, playing board games, trying to keep their brain engaged, but also including a physical aspect as well,” he said.
King said another part of the program is social integration, getting them involved in the community.
“We want to go to different events in the community, but also exploring different spaces in the San Diego region,” he said. “Many times, their parents work and are busy, so part of the program, we provide them the opportunity to see other places. We go to the zoo, the beach, SeaWorld, to get those different aspects”
King said another focus is personal development.
“Many times, parents want them to grow in a specific area,” he said.
“That can be social, fiscal responsibility, so we work on personal development. Lastly, we work on vocational skills. Many want to go to work, so we want to help them build a resume, give assistance in interview questions.”
King said the program is new to the area, launching a few weeks ago, so now they are working with the San Diego Regional Center to get clients.
King said they have a big event on Sept. 28 in Mission Valley with around 2,000 attendees. The event aims to foster empowerment, personal growth, and community involvement. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the program and the resources available.
King said its first locations for meetings will be Chula Vista in Otay Ranch and Eastlake, and then National City, meeting Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I really want to give back to the South Bay because it is the area I grew up in,” he said. “Our first location will be the Otay Ranch area because they have the mall there, and a lot of resources in the area, such as recreation centers, Barnes & Noble. But as clients come in, we will have to meet that need, so there will need to be assistance in National City.”
King said although everything right now has to be run through the Regional Center, interested parties can contact him and get them connected through the Regional Center service coordinators, whom he is in constant contact with.
“I want to use my background in education to my future clients. Much of what I have been able to integrate into our curriculum inside our program comes from my educational experience. Much of that will be integrated into this program to help them pursue whatever they would like to in the future,” he said.
For more information, visit www.empower-pathways.com.
