At Additional Needs, Inc. (ANI), we recognize the immense challenges faced by individuals with additional needs and their families—challenges that extend beyond daily care and support to include financial stability, meaningful employment, and social inclusion. As the world rapidly evolves, access to stable, flexible, and empowering job opportunities is more critical than ever for this community.
Our Family Empowerment Employment and Internship Program is designed to bridge these gaps by creating pathways to meaningful employment and skill development, ensuring that individuals with additional needs and their caregivers are not left behind. By fostering an inclusive work environment, ANI is committed to providing opportunities that empower individuals, build confidence, and strengthen families.
Families caring for individuals with additional needs often face the difficult choice between full-time employment and providing essential care for their loved ones. ANI’s innovative Shared Salary Model eliminates this barrier, allowing individuals with additional needs and their family members to work together as a team while earning a sustainable income.
The salary is split between the individual with additional needs and their caregiver, ensuring the family unit receives full pay while fostering workplace inclusion.
This model allows families to maintain a balance between caregiving and employment, alleviating the stress of choosing between work and support.
By integrating individuals with additional needs into the workforce, ANI empowers them to contribute meaningfully while ensuring caregivers are recognized and financially supported.
This program is designed specifically for those who have been left out of traditional benefit systems, offering competitive wages and stable roles that support long-term independence and self-worth—without compromising access to the limited supports they may rely on elsewhere.
We believe that fair pay is foundational. When individuals earn a sustainable income, they gain the freedom to make their own choices and build their futures with confidence.
ANI doesn’t offer token jobs. We create opportunities for real growth—where employees are valued for their strengths, supported in their challenges, and given the chance to thrive in meaningful roles.
By offering full-time employment thoughtfully—without traditional benefits that can unintentionally disqualify someone from vital services—we’re making sure that no one is left behind just because the system didn’t plan for their path.
In today’s digital economy, technological literacy is key to career advancement. ANI’s Internship Program is designed to provide individuals with additional needs the hands-on experience and technical skills necessary to thrive in the workforce.
Interns will:
Engage in data gathering, research projects, and information management to support ANI’s growing resource database.
Contribute to ANI’s mission by helping curate and update vital resources for the additional needs community, ensuring families have access to the support and services they need.
Work in a structured, mentorship-driven environment where they can develop confidence and career skills in a meaningful, supportive setting.
The world has changed drastically, and individuals with additional needs and their families are facing heightened economic uncertainty, increased caregiving demands, and fewer employment opportunities. Programs like ANI’s Family Empowerment Employment and Internship Program provide the stability, inclusivity, and opportunity that this community so urgently needs.
Too often, individuals with additional needs are excluded from traditional employment. ANI’s program ensures they have access to meaningful careers, not just jobs.
The emotional and financial strain on caregivers is immense. By integrating caregivers into the employment model, ANI ensures that families are supported as a unit.
Skill development and employment opportunities create a sustainable future for individuals with additional needs, fostering independence and dignity.
At ANI, we believe that everyone deserves a chance to contribute, grow, and thrive—and that no one should have to choose between financial security and caring for a loved one. Through this program, we are taking a stand for inclusion, empowerment, and opportunity, ensuring that individuals with additional needs and their families have the support they need to succeed.
Indiana is currently engaged in our internship program, where he is actively developing his skills and growing in confidence. One of the most meaningful ways this program is helping the Crehan family thrive is by giving Cate the flexibility to homeschool Indiana and work closely with him—nurturing his strengths and supporting his healing journey from Complex PTSD.
Cate is a 53-year-old mother of two adult children with Autism—Indiana and his sister, Layla—and a proud stepmother to two remarkable young women, Taylor and Shannon. Her early love for photography and writing quickly blossomed into a passion for film. At just 13, Cate won her first poetry contest and later earned multiple awards for photography during high school and college. She began studying film at the University of Central Florida, but ultimately chose to pause her education to fully support the needs of her additional needs family.
Throughout her career, Cate has worn many hats—writer, photographer, business manager, entertainment transcriptionist, closed caption editor, researcher, and assistant to a true crime author. Still, her heart remains rooted in two passions: advocating for the additional needs community and working in media. Through her role with ANI, Cate now has the opportunity to combine both passions while contributing financially to her family—a path she embraces with deep gratitude and excitement.
Indiana, 19, is a young man with a bright future ahead. Though his early years were marked by challenges—including full-body dyspraxia, which made it difficult for him to draw, write, or paint—his drive to express himself through art never waned. He began creating vibrant works using yarn and any surface he could find. With the support of dedicated therapy and the loving guidance of his sister Layla, Indiana has made extraordinary progress as an artist. He now creates intricate drawings of faces and flowers using only black ink, paints with acrylics, and has recently started experimenting with watercolors.
This summer, Indiana is excited to explore photography, videography, and editing—following in his mother’s creative footsteps. He thrives outdoors, especially near the ocean, and hopes to learn tap dancing in the coming months. As an ANI intern, Indiana is currently creating social media content to promote the artists participating in the 2025 Celebration of Creation and is eager to continue developing his talents and becoming an integral part of the ANI team.
Because the more of us who come together, the more we can show funders, partners, and sponsors that our community is ready to lead. Your participation opens doors—not just for you, for countless others.
