August 17, 2005

A Special Program Comes to Manhattan:
OU Awarded Grant for After-School Programming for Manhattan Youth with Disabilities

A grant for weekday after-school programming for teens and young adults with special needs has been awarded to the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD)/Yachad program through its Jewish Union Foundation division. The once-a-week activities are expected to begin the second week of September at a location to be announced.

The grant was provided by the Manhattan Family Support Committee of the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Service Organization, a division of the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. The grant was was awarded because Orthodox Jewish students cannot take part in many supplementary programs because they occur on Saturdays.

There are openings for 15 people in the program. Participants must be a resident of Manhattan between the ages of 15 and 21 with disabilities. Transportation is available.

“Through a combination of supervised social, recreational and educational experiences, this program will afford disabled youth the opportunity to gain social skills and a sense of acceptance, realizing the full potential of their capabilities,” declared Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, National Director of NJCD. Activities will include arts and crafts, sports, Jewish activities and learning, and especially social skills, he said.

The program will foster self-esteem, allowing each individual to excel in specific areas, while simultaneously expanding all participants’ understanding and familiarity with a wide range of cultural themes. Additionally, it will provide concomitant social skills. As a complementary goal, it provides families with additional respite time, said Dr. Lichtman.

This program will be mainstreamed with day school students and held in a local day school in Manhattan. It is one of the few programs that the Manhattan Family Support Committee is funding in a mainstreaming environment. The program will be run by Yachad staff.

“The mainstreaming component is unique to this program, and perfectly mirrors the goals of NJCD/Yachad,” Dr. Lichtman emphasized. “NJCD/Yachad is dedicated to addressing the needs of all individuals with disabilities and including them in the Jewish community. Yachad activities provide our members with opportunities for personal growth and enriched lives. The 'inclusive design' gives our special population their rightful place within the Jewish community, while helping to educate the community about our members' abilities and strengths.”

The program also serves to educate the community at large, particularly young people, about the disabled. As these non-handicapped young people acquire a greater understanding and appreciation for individuals with developmental disabilities and their abilities, a sense of responsibility to facilitate the inclusion of all people with special needs is created, added Dr. Lichtman.

While similar programs exist in other boroughs of New York City -- such as CAP (Cultural Arts Programming) in Queens, Long Island and Brooklyn -- NJCD/Yachad recognized a great and unfulfilled need in the Manhattan Jewish community for this type of program. “We are delighted that the Manhattan Family Support Committee recognized the need for such programming in the Manhattan Orthodox Jewish community, and are enabling us to provide it,” said Dr. Lichtman.

For more information, or to apply, contact Eta Krasna Levenson, Associate Director of NJCD, at 212-613-8235.

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The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 400,000 products manufactured in 83 countries around the globe.

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