Program: "ARC of Morris" by William R. Testa, Executive Director of The Arc/Morris Chapter

Mary Anne Maloney Introduced Bill Testa, Executive Director of Arc/Morris. He has almost 30 years of experience with the organization.

Bill began by showing a photo of Carrie and John and told the story of Arc through the couple. Arc provides services for people with “intellectual disabilities”.  The Arc national movement began with self-help groups when soldiers returned from WWII. Arc/Morris was born in 1953. Early services were for children. Families were often told to “put their child away” as soon as they were born. Children with disabilities were put into state institutions.

In the 50’s, Arc/Morris found new families in need and organized efforts to provide services. President Kennedy’s sister Rosemary had a disability and making this public accelerated the growth of services for disabled.

John was born in the 60’s. Carrie is older than John. She is 80 years old in 2011. 

In the 70’s Geraldo Rivera exposed the terrible conditions in the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. The story led to a growing movement to question public policy around people like John and Carrie. This led to improvements to state institutions but Arc continued to struggle for resources in local communities. 

Then in the 80’s Reagan discovered that better service at lower cost could be provided through community based organizations. Reagan allowed Federal money to be allocated to community services. This led to unparalleled growth in Arc.

Now, we no longer lock away people with disabilities but allow them to live within their communities. Arc moved Carrie from an institution to a group home and then she was able to move to her own apartment. After John’s father died, John moved from his parents’ home into a group home in Chester about five years ago. He met Carrie there and they became good friends. Arc/Morris serves many very disabled people, mostly adults. Most require around-the-clock care, or close to it.

Arc has an extensive residential program, including a house in Chatham Township. There are 19 group homes across Morris County. Communities are becoming more receptive to these group homes.

One in 10 families are affected by intellectual disabilities. John and Carrie are just a slice of the Arc activities. Arc is funded primarily by Medicaid. Funds are short. Kiwanis members applauded the speaker and the good work of Arc. Click here to learn more about Arc.

Dot Libman, Director of the ECLC of NJ P.R.I.D.E., Presents Program at December 7 Meeting.

At the December 7 Kiwanis Luncheon, Dot Libman described the newest ECLC of NJ program for helping adults with developmental disabilities. Called P.R.I.D.E., the initials stand for Promoting Responsibility, Independence, Decision-making and Employability.

Left front, Kim Paxton; back (L to R), Heather Alonge, Oni Struthers, Dot Libman and Dick Plambeck.

The state of New Jersey covers needs of special education students up until the age of 21, after which they are no longer eligible. PRIDE extends services beyond graduation from ECLC schools. Some funds are available through self-directed day services and ECLC’s clients have chosen PRIDE to be their agency. Areas of concentration include social skills, community skills, vocational skills and independent living skills (e.g. laundry and food preparation). The goal is to help clients lead the most fulfilling life that they can. Clients have a variety of cognitive and physical disabilities, including Autism, Down syndrome and others. PRIDE is happy to have visitors and volunteers.

Funding is through NJ state for “usage”. Contributions are needed for investments in facilities like buildings, vans, etc. PRIDE started 26 months ago as a day-care center with 18 clients and 2 staff members. It has grown to 61 clients and 14 staff. There are multiple programs: PRIDE 1, PRIDE 2, PEP (PRIDE Evening Program) and PRIDECO (providing career opportunities). For example, PRIDECO just started a packaging center for Tiffany & Co. e-commerce. PRIDECO is also planning a shredding business. The goal is for clients to spend their day at PRIDE in multiple programs, not languishing in their homes. PRIDE clients are transported by Access Link, a service by NJ Transit for people with disabilities.

PRIDE clients can choose their own mix of programs. Clients perform a lot of volunteer work and they feel good about doing it. Dot introduced two clients, Oni Struthers in PRIDE 1 and Kim Paxton in PRIDE 2, to tell Kiwanians about their experiences.

They described their PRIDE daily activities and goals. Today, Oni did a session of Yoga and then went to the bank to cash his PRIDE paycheck (for work done at the Center). Then he went to the Kiwanis meeting. Recently, he has volunteered by making cupcakes for the soldiers in Iraq.

Kim told of skills she is working on, including making choices, communicating, time management and team building. A new skill she is developing at PRIDE is drawing, which she never did at home. She also described therapy dog training, called the “puppy training program.” The puppies are for “Canine Companions” and “Paws for People.”

Oni described the PRIDE book club. In that activity, clients travel to Panera Bread where they buy a drink and read a book. The book club is reading “Just as Long as We’re Together”, a book about friendships. The clients voted to choose this book to read. His favorite thing about PRIDE is being with his friends and all the great staff.

Heather Alonge, who introduced Dot at the beginning of the program, returned to the podium to tell members about ECLC’s funding needs. They have plans for PRIDECO development that come with a large budget. They need a hydraulic table, shrink-wrap machines, aprons, etc. She asked the Kiwanis Club to make a contribution. She also asked club members to make individual contributions using the “Donate” button found on the ECLC website. Just be sure to type into the “note box” that the donation is to go to PRIDECO (or whatever project you want to support). Click here to go to the ECLC home page and then click on the “Donate” button. Then follow the instructions on the screen. Nancy Holt, chair of the Kiwanis Benevolence Committee, said that they will consider increasing the clubs giving to ECLC for the PRIDECO program.