36 Under 36: Tikvah Juni, Public Face Of Inclusion Advocacy

Editor’s Note: At the “New Normal,” we’re excited that two of this year’s “36 Under 36″winners work for more inclusion of people with disabilities. We’re sharing one of the profiles today:

When Tikvah Juni was 16, she received her first standing ovation.

“I remember all the people, cheering and smiling,” said Juni, who had been the guest speaker at an event hosted by Yachad: The National Jewish Council for Disabilities.

“That was the first time I really believed the world could change,” she said. Since then, she’s been trying to change the world one speech at a time.

Juni, who has Down syndrome, travels around the U.S. teaching audiences about inclusion. In Washington, D.C., she even lobbied state and federal legislators to increase resources for special needs students.

Though she begins each speech with a thought on the weekly Torah portion, she ends by detailing her experiences as someone with special needs.

“I hate the words ‘disability’ and ‘consumer,’ she said, two words commonly used to describe those with special needs. “People with special needs aren’t takers, and we aren’t incapable. We want to be accepted just as much as everyone else.”

Growing up in the 1980s when inclusion was rarely a topic of conversation, Juni often felt excluded.

“Schools kept closing their doors to me after they heard about my special needs,” said Juni, who grew up in the Orthodox community of Flatbush. Socializing was also difficult, and Juni spent much of her childhood reading books instead of romping with friends.

“People didn’t treat me so nicely. They judged me by the way I looked,” she said.
Even today, audiences are often surprised when she first walks up to the podium. “They’re expecting someone big and important, and here’s this small little girl,” Juni said. “But when I start speaking, they shift their focus. It’s not about my exterior — it’s about what I’m saying.”

When not on speaking tours, Juni works with special needs children. During the school year, she serves as a preschool teaching assistant; in the summer, you can find her at Camp HASC.
To reach an even broader audience, Juni completed a several-hundred page book about her experiences. Though not yet published, she’s hoping one day her story, and her message, can reach thousands.

Capturing color: In her downtime, Juni loves oil painting. She is particularly fond of landscapes. “An artist can see the world in a way no one else can,” she said. “It’s important to notice things other people don’t.”

This article was written by Hannah Dreyfus.

To view the original article on The Jewish Week website, click here.

A Very Special Gift

What could be better than giving a charming and unique gift to someone you care about? Doing that while, at the same time, helping Yachad members gain skills that will provide an opportunity for competitive employment.

The Jewish Union Foundation, an affiliate of Yachad, established YachadGifts.com, which offers an exciting assortment of gifts and gift baskets for all occasions.

Stuart Gourdji, Yachad’s vocational technology supervisor says, “Yachad Gifts employs individuals with a diverse array of skills that are applicable to every aspect of the business — designing, purchasing, packaging, shipping, delivery, data entry, sales, and customer service. Our mission is to provide those who work here with the job and social skill sets needed to gain competitive employment in various industries.”

This unique enterprise has gifts for every milestone, holiday, and celebration. From the beautiful candlesticks in a bat mitzvah package, to exotic fruits that please the eye as well as the taste buds. Employee Shira Danan commented on her work experience with a smile. “I enjoy coming to work every day, it makes me happy. I like to make bows and baskets.”

Creative Director Ava Lang Soffer shared, “We are designing innovative and fun baskets and gifts all the time. Our employees look forward to trying their hands, literally and figuratively, at new projects.” There are themed baskets for the gardener, gourmet cook, and sports fan in your life and so much more. Custom gifts and gift certificates are also available.

Place an order today. Use coupon code Belong2015 for a 10% discount on your order.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

Frozen And As Warm As Can Be

It was cold and snowy outside but comfortable and warm inside the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School auditorium on March 27th. An inclusive production of Frozen played before a packed house of enthusiastic theatergoers. The high school students and Yachad members performed together seamlessly as the story of the two royal sisters played out with charm and sensitivity.

Yachad member Devorah Leiberman shared, “I really enjoyed working on the play with my new friends at the Yeshivah of Flatbush — it was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time practicing and preparing my lines, along with my roommates who were also in the play.”

David Weintraub, program director of Senior Yachad said, “When you see “inclusion” practiced right before your eyes with dignity and ease, you must appreciate how far our community has come in accepting all of B’nei Yisrael for who they are, without judgments and reservations. The entire cast and crew, those from Yachad and those from the Yeshivah of Flatbush, did their best to make the evening unforgettable.”

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

A Serving of Success, by Michael Orbach

If you spend time this summer at Bnei Akiva’s Camp Moshava in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, you probably won’t pay much attention to the waiter serving your meal. He’ll be bringing you plates of food while he serves three other tables amidst the hubbub of children eating, playing, and laughing in the air-conditioned dining room. Maybe you’ll catch his infectious smile or marvel at the enjoyment he derives from his job. If you’re lucky your waiter will be Glen Mueller and he is one of Yachad’s success stories.

Each morning, Glen, like all the rest of the wait staff, rises at six-thirty to begin organizing breakfast. After two shifts he gets a brief break, followed by more shifts setting up lunch for the several hundred campers and staff members. Late afternoon, Glen reports back to the dining room to help set up for dinner. While it may sound like an exhausting day, Glen doesn’t mind.

“I chose to be a waiter on my own,” Glen, 20, explained. “It was an independent dec-ision. It’s a lot of work but I love it and I do it well.”

“Success means different things to different people,” explained Dr. Joe Goldfarb, director of Yachad’s summer programs. “For Glen, success meant being able to work in a summer camp on his own without supportive job coaches.”

Glen, who has a learning disability, began attending Moshava as a member of Yachad’s shadow program. His father, Dr. Stuart Mueller, joked that Glen was lured to the camp because Pennsylvania is cooler during the summer than Houston where the family lives. As part of Yachad’s shadow program, members live with the rest of the bunk, and have a specific counselor assigned to work with them. Counselors glide between being a shadow for the Yachad member and a regular bunk counselor. The situation worked very well for Glen.

After two years in the shadow program, Glen signed up for Yachad’s vocational program at Camp Moshava, where he received job training as a waiter with mild supervision from Yachad instructors. Yachad currently has nine vocational programs in different summer camps throughout the United States. Glen quickly became proficient at handling the distractions of the dining room. Shlomo Stern, who was in charge of the dining room was also with Bnei Akiva in Houston and familiar with Glen’s abilities – he was a great help to the young man.

From working one table to working three and then five, Glen quickly progressed.

“He is as positive a per-son as you will ever meet,” said Stern. “Glen’s a real team player; he is willing to work hard and do whatever needs to be done.”

“We work with our coaches to ensure that all tasks are taught in a gradual manner to ensure that our members can learn well and thoroughly,” said Dr. Goldfarb. “For example, a typical waiter serves 4-5 tables, while a member of our vocational program would start with one table and focus on the demands of the job and then we’d encourage him or her to take on another when and if they are ready. Some individuals need more coaching than others — that’s part of our fade-in-and-fade-out procedure. We mentor from a greater distance as our members become more independent.”

“[Being a waiter] is probably one of the toughest jobs in camp,” related Glen. “It’s a very challenging position but I love it because I get to interact with the campers and that is fun and enjoyable. I get to make them smile.”

Dr. Mueller added, “The summer job helped my son become more independent and he was happy to make money on his own.”

Last summer, Glen returned to Moshava, not as a member of Yachad’s vocational program, but as a full-fledged waiter hired by the camp.

Stern said that Glen’s transition from Yachad’s vocational program to full-time staff was quite smooth. “I think that having so much unstructured free time was hard for him initially, but Glen quickly figured out how much time he should spend socializing and when he should take some time for himself,” said Stern, adding that the conversational ice-breakers that Glen learned at Yachad helped him find things to talk about with his co-workers.

Making pizzas in the Camp Moshava Kitchen

Stern praised his waiter’s work ethic. “He has remarkable energy and spirit – he is eager to participate in whatever we were doing. Glen truly motivates his colleagues.”

“Glen is probably better than any other waiter because of his work ethic and happiness with the job,” said fellow waiter Yoni Kuhr. “Glen works hard and always has a smile on his face. The kids love him, not only because he is a great waiter, but also because he is so kind, understanding, and warm. Being friends with Glen is an honor – he truly is an amazing person.”

Glen said that though he’s no longer in the Yachad bunk, he still makes sure to see his friends from the vocational program. “I still hang out with them because they are my friends.”

Glen is spending the year in Israel at Darkaynu, a yeshiva that combines learning with job placement. The young man plans to return to Moshava this summer and he hopes to eventually have a career working with children with disabilities, a passion he says was shaped by his time working with the Friendship Circle in Houston and on Yachad Shabbatonim. Glen shared that he felt great satisfaction in working with those who required more assistance than he did.

“Having a job and working is for everyone,” stated Dr. Goldfarb. “Having a job is an important part of living a satisfying life and that’s no different for someone with a disability.”

Or, as Dr. Mueller put it: “Every person, no matter what their potential is, has the right to reach it, and Yachad helps them do it.”

 Michael Orbach is a staff writer at the Orthodox Union.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

YYLC: Making Things Happen

L-R, Kyra Englander and Shosana Marder

Yachad Youth Leadership Council: Educational Advocacy Track

Kyra Englander, YYLC President

The educational advocacy track of the Yachad Youth Leadership Council (YYLC) is made up of twenty-four extremely creative, insightful, and passionate high school students who want to make a difference. Through many discussions and meetings, we choose a plan of activities that will spread the message of the importance of inclusion and how to create a more sensitive and cognizant society.

One major effort that YYLC undertakes every year is a social media campaign for February in honor of North American Inclusion Month (NAIM). This year’s initiative is the #BeHuman campaign. Every day Yachad posts a video clip of someone expressing their DiffAbility (Different Ability) and emphasizes the fact that they don’t let it confine them. It is important to show that everyone has a DiffAbility and no one is perfect — that is what makes us human. We encourage everyone who sees our videos to express their DiffAbilities and to nominate their friends to do the same. Our goal is to show that we do not let our different capabilities limit us, because we are so much more than the things we can and can’t do.

On March 10th, along with the Yachad DayHab program, we lobbied in Albany on behalf of the Workers with Disabilities Tax Credit Act. This bill aims to increase the tax credit that businesses receive when they hire individuals with disabilities. The larger the tax credit the greater the incentive for businesses to hire these individuals. Beforehand, we were professionally trained on how to lobby, and educated regarding what to discuss in the meetings. We are so lucky to have been given this opportunity to speak out for what we believe in!

In the longer term, we hope to create a children’s book that teaches valuable lessons about inclusion and self worth embedded in a heartwarming story. Each member of YYLC has, and continues to, put in so much time, effort, and dedication into all that they work on and the outcome is truly worthwhile!

Kyra Englander of Woodmere, NY is a senior at SKA Yeshiva High School for Girls.

YYLC Inclusive Programming

Shoshana Marder, YYLC President

Did you ever wonder what busy high school students do during their limited free time? Well, for the members of the Yachad Youth Leadership Committee (YYLC) Inclusive Programming Board, the answer is Yachad! This board consists of 36 dedicated and motivated high school juniors and seniors. Though the members come from many different schools in the New York tri-state area, they all share one thing in common — their uncompromising love for Yachad!

These high school students work tirelessly to create inclusive events, fundraisers, and apparel for Yachad. Though the brainstorming and discussions begin at our monthly board meetings, the YYLC members spend their free time, month after month, working to implement the different ideas discussed. This year, the Inclusive Programming Board of YYLC has had a great start, creating a successful inclusive Super Bowl Party as well as raising money (and awareness!) through our Super Bowl Boxes.

YYLC also created an Inclusion Day to help spread the concept of inclusion in all of our high schools. Members of the board have also been hard at work designing new Yachad apparel and accessories, such as headphone splitters, suspenders, and sweatpants. We have many more events and campaigns planned for the near future, and we look forward to spreading the word about Yachad and inclusion throughout all high schools!

Shoshana Marder of White Plains, NY is a senior at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

Yachad’s Relationship Building Course: A Supportive Environment to Learn Social Skills

By Zvi Volk

Everyone gets upset or angry from time to time. The context may be school, work, personal or family relationships. Social skills help to navigate these challenges of everyday life.

Now imagine how your anger affects your behavior if you are simultaneously struggling with a disability — any disability.

One-on-one time with an RBC facilitator

This is the setting of Yachad’s Relationship Building Course (RBC) that is now offered at multiple locations in the United States, as well as Canada and Israel. Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, international director of Yachad says, “The Yachad staff determined that there is a need for its members with a range of developmental disabilities to have an opportunity to learn and practice social skills in a supportive environment.” He worked with Yachad’s clinical staff to develop the RBC curriculum in order to help members improve their interpersonal relationships.

Rivky Schwarzbard-Raine, a social worker supervising the course in Israel says, “Most of the participants in RBC are either working or in school, sometimes both. Many of our members function very well most days, but then one day they get upset with a coworker or fellow student and may not know how to handle the situation. We try to teach emotional regulation so they can have healthy and safe relationships with the people around them.”

Disabilities often make the obvious not so obvious, Schwarzbard-Raine explains. “When we discuss physical safety that means whom our members should speak to or what they should do when someone makes them uncomfortable. Our students come to RBC because they need a place where they can feel safe in talking about all kinds of things that happen in their daily lives. Members need to be around others who understand why they’re frustrated, why they’re having trouble at work, or why sometimes it’s hard to calm down.”

She recently received an email from a proud mother whose son was facing a serious problem. He told his mother that at RBC he learned that when he’s upset he can’t just keep it inside, he has to let people know what’s going on so that things can be worked out.”

The RBC curriculum is thorough and very specific. It covers many of the very basic rules for positive interactions with those around us.

RBC Curriculum

• How to introduce yourself in a social situation. What do you talk about?
• Physical safety. Don’t go to a park at midnight.
• Vocabulary of emotions. What are you feeling? “I’m upset” or “I’m angry” or “I feel hopeless” or “frustrated” or “happy” or “excited.”
• Solving conflicts at work, at home, and in the community. What to do in a number of seemingly everyday situations.
• Social skills when you’re upset.
• How to have a conversation and how to be a good listener.
• Waiting. How to be patient.
• Participation with others. This can be difficult because sometimes individuals want to be alone but they may be expected to participate with others. This can apply both at home and at work.
• Dealing with anxiety. How to calm down before interacting with others.
• Personal Space. Boundaries and where to stand or sit while talking with someone.

Each of these topics can be the subject of an individual lesson. “I always begin with a lesson plan,” Schwarzbard-Raine explains, “but many times I don’t get through the full lesson because someone brings up an issue with which he or she is struggling. When that happens, the group will discuss possible ways to handle the situation.”

“At the Brooklyn site there are usually two simultaneous classes per evening. Then all staff and participants come together after the dinner break,” according to Michelle Mintz, senior social worker and supervisor at Yachad in New York. “We have found that there are often topics that may be important for everyone to discuss. We encourage our staff to be creative and we strive to make RBC as interactive as possible. Because we are working on social skills, we try to get the members to interact with each other as much as possible.”

Mintz explains that Brooklyn RBC individualizes the program for each member. “We focus on our members’ strengths as well as the skills they need to develop. Classes are set up so that participants can learn from each other in small group settings. The group discussions are based on the curriculum, but we remain flexible. We help individuals work on their specific issues. People are always changing and this program ensures that there is always room for growth. The Yachad staff embraces these changes in order to help our members succeed in a variety of social situations.”

It’s what’s inside a person that counts

RBC Group at the OU Israel Center

Yachad member Ruthie Bar-Or began coming to RBC in Israel last year. She works in a kindergarten and is taking an introductory course on special education at Bar-Ilan University, east of Tel Aviv. She also lectures on interacting successfully with people with disabilities.

“What I’ve learned in the course is that what’s inside a person is more important than what you see outside. I want to be the kind of person who has a good heart and derech eretz [manners],” she says.

At RBC Bar-Or has improved her conversational skills. “It’s not good for a person to be alone,” she shares, “social contacts are very important in addition to family, of course. In class we learn the correct way to talk to people. I’m out in the world; I have to understand how to act properly.”

When Ruthie lectures she points out that, “Just because I have a disability that does not mean that I’m not a person just like you. I’m not stupid and I’m not ugly,” she stresses. “I am like other people – I feel things. I have a heart and I can be hurt just like you.”

Bar-Or says, “I really don’t like it when someone asks ‘what do you have?’ That is intrusive and disrespectful and it really hurts. I’ll never do that to others. Thank goodness, today many people are becoming more understanding of those with disabilities,” she explained. “I go on buses; I go to the supermarket. Wherever I am I want to be treated just like a person without disabilities. After all, everyone has issues. No one is perfect.”

Schwarzbard-Raine acknowledges that Ruthie Bar-Or is exceptional in her ability to express herself. “All of the participants bring their own uniqueness to the RBC classes. I love the people in my groups and I love teaching them,” she says. “I am delighted to see them build relationships with each other and staff from week to week. Sometimes I feel that I gain as much from the sessions as the members do.”

Zvi Volk is a staff writer at the Orthodox Union.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

An Interview with Cleveland Yachad’s Sara Cooperman

By Grace Berman

Sara Cooperman is one of Yachad’s most inspirational staff members. She effortlessly juggles a full-time job, busy family life, and co-coordinating Yachad’s Cleveland chapter among many other endeavors. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm are key to the success of her chapter. Cleveland chapter supervisor Benjy Leibowitz describes Sara as, “Fun, creative, hard-working, and extremely detail-oriented. She not only excels in planning and executing Yachad programs, but she does it consistently every single week with a huge smile on her face!”

As a social work intern in the national department, I have had the pleasure of working with Sara and learning about the numerous events she plans and coordinates for her chapter. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to interview her about her role in Yachad and her love for her work.

How did you get involved in Yachad?

I have been involved in Yachad since I was in eighth grade. I’m about to date myself but that was about 15 years ago (please, don’t do the math!). Even prior to that, we were a “Yachad family”—two of my older siblings were high school participants in the organization (both of whom met their spouses through Yachad programs) and my mother, Mary Ireland, was an assistant coordinator before I was even born! Yachad has been a big part of my family for as long as I can remember. As a child, if I stayed home from school because I wasn’t feeling well, I would still try to convince my parents that I was well enough to go to our weekly Yachad event that same evening – I did not want to miss it. They would always say, “No school, no Yachad.” How disappointing!

What is your role in Yachad? What does a day in the life of Sara Cooperman look like?

I joined Yachad as a high school peer participant and I remained active all the way through graduation. When I spent a year in Israel post-high school, there was not yet a “Yachad Israel” chapter but I did volunteer at “Gan Harmony” which is an early childhood center whose goal is the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream life. As this is also Yachad’s goal, I felt right at home. Then I went to college in Chicago and was the assistant to Efrem Popel, the Yachad director, for two years. I returned to Cleveland and began working as an assistant to the coordinator, my mentor, Mrs. Sarah Taub. Now I have the honor and privilege of working as a joint coordinator alongside Sarah. We have truly come full circle, as my mother assisted Sarah when Cleveland Yachad first started so many years ago!

A lot of people don’t know that in addition to being the Yachad coordinator, I have a full-time “day job” as the activities director at a small nursing home and assisted living facility owned and administrated by my brother. After my day at the nursing home, I rush home to spend time with my husband and three-year-old son, Zac. On evenings when there are no Yachad programs taking place I am usually catching up with Yachad members and students, posting and marketing our events and initiatives on social media, planning upcoming events, or attending board meetings. I also am a volunteer matchmaker on sawyouatsinai.com (hit me up, singles) and a freelance writer for the Jewish Press. Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t end my day wasting way too much time on Facebook. My days are packed but incredibly enriched by doing work that I love!

What is your favorite thing about working for Yachad?

Hands down, I love the people. I am so fortunate that Yachad allows me to meet, interact, and spend time with incredibly strong and inspiring people on a daily basis: Yachad members who have overcome so much adversity, high school peers and college advisors who spend their precious time with us, Yachad parents and siblings, board members, community supporters, my co-workers all around the world, and, especially, the staff in the national office, who are beyond supportive. The encouragement I get from these people is immeasurable. I treasure my relationships with them because we share the same ideology and passion to see all individuals included in the community!

I just have to mention that I LOVE Yachad’s colors; they are now my colors. Blue and orange—how can you go wrong? I think we have Eli Hagler, Yachad’s assistant director, to thank for that. Thanks Eli! I know that I go overboard sometimes with the blue and orange in my daily life but I can’t help it; wearing them brightens my day.

Name one of your accomplishments that you are most proud of.

Last year, we had a Team Yachad at the Cleveland Rite Aid marathon! We had 32 runners participating and it was so much fun! It took months of planning and lots of hands-on guidance and support from our lay leadership board and chairman, Dr. Avi Jacobs, along with Benjy Leibowitz and Eli Hagler to make it happen, but it was an incredible experience!

First of all, I must tell you that prior to this event I didn’t know the world existed before 4 a.m. Second, watching something like that start with a basic idea and grow to fruition was exhilarating.

My dad was one of the runners and so was my husband, [who is] a cancer survivor, so it became very personal to me on a whole other level. Seeing them both cross the finish line and greeting the other runners in our Team Yachad tent was an incredible experience, one I will never forget.

How would you like to see Yachad grow in the future?

Dr. Lichtman, Yachad’s international director, always talks about Yachad being a resource in our communities and I think about that often, especially as far as Cleveland is concerned. I would love Yachad to continue to grow and expand and be able to meet any and all needs of our community. Beyond our tremendous social-recreational component, I would like to see Yachad associated with various clinical services and assorted support systems. Let’s paint the town blue and orange!

Grace Berman is a social work intern at Yachad.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

A Place of His Own

When Avi Polin became the proud renter of his own apartment in Staten Island this past December, it was the first time the Jewish Union Foundation assisted with a single living space subsidized by New York State’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

The Monsey native had moved to Staten Island to live with his sister and her family, but as a working professional in his early 30’s, Avi longed for a place of his own. Plus, working for a photography studio means he doesn’t work a standard 9-5 shift, and Avi felt badly if he woke anyone up upon his return home.

“Avi is very self-sufficient,” described Shira Cohen, JUF’s Medicaid service coordinator who works with Avi to allocate the funding he qualifies for through OPWDD. And while OPWDD has different categories for housing options, Avi qualified to live on his own with his government subsidies paying the bulk of his rent and utilities.

Avi has been involved with Yachad programming for most of his life — participating in Shabbatonim, summer programs and the like. Avi’s sister Leah Commer and her husband Josh found the apartment, located about a ten-minute walk from their home, and the JUF staff assisted with the paperwork.

These days Avi has a selection of basic dishes he is able to prepare for himself, ranging from pasta to fish. Learning to cook was an adjustment. Shortly after moving in to the apartment, Avi arrived home hungry from a photography job at 2 a.m., and decided to make himself a grilled cheese sandwich. The novice cook burned the bread, setting off the fire alarm. “I opened the windows, I opened the doors, I waved a towel to help the smoke go out but I couldn’t figure out how to turn the alarm off,” he said. Woken by the noise, his landlord came to help. “I got so scared, I thought I was going to burn the house down,” Avi admitted. “But my landlord is very nice and he understood my circumstances. He showed me what to do if this happens again.”

“Avi fit right in to private living,” shared his landlords Leonard and Karen Mandel. “We’re on very friendly terms — he’s a regular tenant. He talks to us when he sees us, he’s concerned that he’s doing everything right and taking care of the place properly. It’s been easy and pleasant dealing with him.”

Avi’s apartment is perfect for his needs, with two bedrooms, a living room, and kitchen. “I love the privacy and space,” he says with a smile. Priding himself on his organization, every Friday he cleans before Shabbat — making sure to take out the trash, wash the dishes, vacuum the carpets and clean the bathroom. He sends his laundry out to a laundromat, using a dry cleaning service when necessary.

“Saving money and paying bills is definitely a challenge,” Avi notes. “Food is expensive! Sometimes it’s hard, and I work with my brother-in-law on my goals; like putting money away in the bank so I can save for the future.”

Avi joins his sister and her family for many Shabbat meals. He knows some locals at the Young Israel of Staten Island from camp as a youth and from various interactions within the community. On Shabbat afternoons he can often be found walking with his 9-year-old niece Rebecca Commer to visit the pet dog of a local family, since both of them love animals. When he has free time, Avi calls his friend, Chaim Tzvi, to spend time together — going out for breakfast, shopping, or to the movies. “Sometimes it does get lonely for me since many of my friends are away in Monsey and most of my friends here are married with kids, so they aren’t able to hang out with me very often,” he said.

“I’m happy when I can host people at my apartment for Yachad Shabbatonim and I still try to make an effort to be part of Yachad programs when I can. When Nicole Bodner and Michael Adler [New York Yachad staff] call me, it makes me feel very good.”

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

Traditional Services vs Self-Direction: Choosing One, the Other…or Both?

By Batya Rosner

We are very lucky to be living in a time when there are so many services and programs available for those with special needs. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide which are best for an individual.

Meet David. David is eligible for a range of services from New York State’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) — financial, social, vocational, emotional, etc. — and he is assigned a Medicaid service coordinator who will work with him and his family to access the often-confusing array of services and support they need.

Shira Cohen is a Medicaid service coordinator for the Jewish Union Foundation (JUF), a partner of Yachad that oversees Medicaid funding for individuals. She coordinates numerous support services ranging from day habilitation programs to vocational training services to respite services for families. Shira and her JUF colleagues develop, implement, and maintain Individualized Service Plans that are tailored to the needs of each person. Working with state funding agencies such as OPWDD, they help clients achieve greater independence.

Working with Shira, David learns that he qualifies for the following services:

1. Day Habilitation (DayHab), a program that provides adults with social activities and encourages increasing independence and personal growth.
2. Community Habilitation (CommunityHab), a service that arranges for individuals to receive one-on-one staffing in the home and out in the community, generally on evenings and weekends, to help develop independence.
3. The option to live in a group home, where the state pays for individuals to live together with a rotation of trained support professionals.
4. Supportive Employment services provide job coaching and employment support such as vocational placement, follow up, emotional support, etc.

With Shira’s help David can select an agency to provide his particular options, or he may choose another route altogether.

More Choices for a Better Fit

In recent years, OPWDD has offered an opportunity known as self-direction. Each person who qualifies is given a budget determined by an assessment test that measures independence level and disability challenges. Then the family, together with the Medicaid Service Coordinator, will put together a plan to spend the money.

“Choosing self-direction means that you want a more individualized program for your child,” explained Michael Appelbaum, JUF program director. “Working with the Medicaid Coordinator, parents have the option to decide exactly how they would like the money allotted their son or daughter to be spent, within reason.”

According to Shira Cohen, “if a parent feels that their child will learn best with more one-on-one interactive opportunities, or through the visual stimulation of museums or music classes with peers, why not do that to stimulate them, versus participation in a DayHab program, which might offer some of the activities of your interest but not as often as you might prefer? Self-direction is an excellent option for someone who doesn’t have to fit into a rigid structure. The individual and his or her family can control how they wish to customize their interests.”

If David and his family opt for self-direction, Shira will help them develop short-term and long-term goals in order to assess which services will help him reach those milestones. Goals may include the desire to be physically active, to be involved within the community, or to improve one’s social skills. They may be broad or quite narrow, such as wishing to learn to act in a more socially acceptable manner, to learn about one’s ethnic background, or to possibly pursue higher education. Individuals may choose to work with animals, learn to play an instrument, or follow their interests almost anywhere.

In order for any service to be funded by the state, Shira and David must show a clear connection between the services provided and the anticipated outcome. Thus, if David enjoys being around animals, money could potentially be allocated for him to take horseback riding lessons as a means to be more physically active, and he may volunteer at an animal shelter.

Within the self-direction plan there are so many options from which to choose in order to tailor the activities to the needs and interests of the individual. David may decide he would like to participate in a DayHab program once a week, and he will use self-direction options to mix and match his interests for the rest of the week.

An important point to keep in mind, however, is that while self-direction has a great deal to offer, it might not be the best option for everyone. “Parents should ask themselves if they have the time, energy, and patience to really make sure everything is done as they want it done — it easily can become a full time job,” Michael Appelbaum noted. “If something goes wrong — transportation doesn’t come, the weather cancels the activity — it’s up to the parent to make new arrangements. For working parents, who can’t just take time off if staffing doesn’t work out, this can be daunting. With an agency no longer involved, ultimately every detail is a parent’s responsibility.”

Still, for those who qualify for assistance from OPWDD, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to services. Many options exist and the Jewish Union Foundation can help navigate and support applicants through the experience.

Batya Rosner is a staff writer at the Orthodox Union.

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.

Reconnecting and Moving Forward

Many of us look back on our teen and college years fondly; we remember our friends and our activities with pride and Yachad has been a big part of so many of those fond, youthful memories. Since its inception in 1983, Yachad has brought together thousands of people in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel, whether through elementary and high school Shabbatonim and community events, or summer trips and programming like Yad B’Yad or Yachad Birthright.

Paint Night in Riverdale, NY – February 2015

“After thirty years of champ-ioning disability inclusion and impacting countless individuals, families, and communities, we recognized that so many ‘friends of Yachad’ wanted to reconnect — find the friends of their youth and see where they are now,” said Naftali Herrmann, Yachad’s director of community outreach and engagement. “It was time for adults that were first introduced to life-long friends and maybe even the special needs community for the first time through Yachad programming to reconnect with one another. We realized we now have fully-grown alumni who want to be a part of Yachad again.”

What began as an effort to reach out to former Yachad volunteers, staff members, and campers quickly morphed into something much bigger. The initial vision was to reestablish the connection of the organization with its past. Thousands of high school and college students have volunteered for Yachad in some capacity. Many stayed six to ten years and grew with the org-anization. Eventually those volunteers graduated from school and started their families and careers. Herrmann points out, “we didn’t have programs for these adult volunteers, so though they continued to spread the message of inclusion to those around them, we needed a bridge and forum by which alumni can stay connected and involved with Yachad.”

In 2013, thirty years after Yachad began, Friends of Yachad was created to fill this void. There are thousands of individuals that have had life changing experiences through their involve-ment on Shabbatonim or any of Yachad’s 27 summer programs. Friends of Yachad enables them to keep the spark alive and continue to be part of the organization that means so much to them. A committee of past volunteers has been developed and to date, thousands of former alumni have rediscovered the fun and friends that they enjoyed years ago.

“When we held the first meeting to discuss the possibility of forming Friends of Yachad, there were men and women from multiple generations of Yachad staff and the excitement was palpable,” recalls Yvette Braunstein, a co-chair of the Friends of Yachad executive board. “Participating in Yachad events had been an integral part of the life of every one of those gathered there. Being involved with Yachad had helped to make these people who they are today. They couldn’t wait to reconnect with each other and with Yachad.”

Alumni reconnecting at FOY Inaugural Event: Yachad Rocks – May 2014

Multiple events have taken place in New York and New Jersey, and more are planned for the near future. Friends of Yachad has evolved from an alumni association into a means for anyone to connect with Yachad, whether they are an old or new friend. “The beauty of Friends of Yachad is that anyone and everyone can be a ‘Friend’,” Yvette says. “At our events we have found that there were a number of individuals who didn’t know much about Yachad. They came for the Dueling Pianos, Paint Night, the 5K runs or because the event sounded like fun. Now that they have learned more about Yachad a number of them want to support our organization.”

Meryl Feldblum attended both Dueling Piano performances. “The Yachad events were the most fun I’ve ever had at a fundraiser; great music; great company; great cause!,” she shared.

Someone who was a Yachad advisor five or 25 years ago isn’t likely to volunteer to come on a Shabbaton in 2015, but there are many other ways that they could become involved — bringing Yachad to their community, helping a Yachad member find a job, or by supporting the organization.

With a strong following already, Herrmann isn’t done. “We are just getting started. There are still thousands of alumni out there whom we haven’t yet reached and we’re not limiting our efforts to alumni. Our ultimate goal is full inclusion and that means the entire Jewish community becoming Friends of Yachad.”

This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.