Last Summer, vermonters Aiden Katz and Alycin Smith planned to participate in Over The Edge for Easterseals VT. They were planning on rappelling down the 11-story North Barre Manor for much more than the thrill.

For Katz, a Norwich resident, age 17, and Smith, age 22, the decision to go Over The Edge is personal. Both have been on the receiving end of Easterseals VT services, and they see their participation as a way to show appreciation and pay it forward.

Katz’s mother, Nancy, adopted Katz as an infant. She struggled to find support for her family for years, being waitlisted by one agency and finally taken on by another, only to have it close and leave her at square one. When Aiden was six, she was connected to Easterseals VT Post Permanency Services and never looked back.

“Our Easterseals post permanence coordinator has provided consistency, resources, information on programs, camps, schools, advice, a listening ear, and counseling,” Nancy says. “She has been the one constant over the years. I can count on her to be there and respond when we have concerns or questions.”

For Smith, Easterseals VT’s Youth Development Program (YDP) helped make a difference for her starting when she was 16. The YDP program helps youth and young adults ages 14 to 22, formerly in foster care, transition to adulthood and independent living.

“The support of YPD has provided housing, helped with many financial burdens, and helped with college costs, such as books, along with many other supports,” says Smith, currently studying nursing at Community College of Vermont with dreams of becoming a forensic nurse. Though it's Alycin’s second bid to go Over the Edge, last year was her final year doing so as a member of the YDP. She hopes to commemorate her experience by giving other foster youth the same opportunities she’s had.