A new home in Clifton

By Eamon Bencivengo

   I arrived at the Bergen County’s United Way offices on Tuesday morning with one objective; completing the application for municipal approval in the construction of a new special needs home in Clifton.  The construction site is a municipally owned lot on Arthur Street, a narrow one-way road in the Botany Village neighborhood of Clifton.  As an abandoned home currently exists on the site, the BCUW proposed home will provide a residence for special needs individuals and benefit the visual appeal of the surrounding neighborhood.  This proposed residence will be a two-story structure with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining area, and a small living room.  In addition, a driveway will be located at the front of the house to provide parking for one vehicle.  Not to mention, the future residents of this home will be within walking distance of downtown Botany Village and all of its amenities.  In addition to this description of our proposed home, I included a project budget, along with the BCUW/Madeline resume, into the application.  After submitting the application to the Clifton City Hall, we now wait and see if Clifton decides to welcome a BCUW/Madeline special needs home!       

Our first "Ranch House" project is underway!

By Tom Tornoto

President

Bergen County's United Way

 

Thanks to the support of the Borough of Demarest, I’m happy to report that our first “ranch house” project for individuals with developmental disabilities will soon be underway.  BCUW/Madeline is a NJ Department of Community Affairs qualified developer for this program and is working along with Advance Opportunities who is the supportive services provider.  We anticipate that renovations to the four bedroom home will be completed this summer.

Funding is provided through a program called the Special Needs Housing Partnership.  It’s a joint initiative launched by the NJ Departments of Community Affairs and Human Services in partnership with municipalities to create by 2013 – 600 affordable, supported-living opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.   The State’s goal is to help integrate people with special needs into the community whenever possible.

We hope to complete two similar projects in other communities by the fall.

We are proud of our residents!

Diana Stolfo, a resident at Orchard Commons has become an outspoken advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities.  She was recently invited to appear on NBC Nightly News along with the National Down Syndrome Society Vice President of Marketing Julie Cevallos to talk about World Down Syndrome Day.  Diana is a featured speaker at the event at the United Nations; speaking about achieving her dream of living independently. Click here to see the NBC video.