The Rosenthal JCC of Northern Westchester today announced that it will be enhancing and expanding its programs and services for people with special needs and their families in order to address new and emerging needs across the lifecycle and throughout the Northern Westchester community. The RJCC also announced that it has hired Robin Gersten, an experienced special needs professional, to lead the charge in expanding programs and services.
Anyone interested in meeting Robin is welcome to join the meeting of Parents for Parents Special Needs Support Group on Tuesday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m.
New programs being launched include:
- Sibshop™, a therapeutic support group for siblings of children with special needs, on Thursday afternoons beginning May 3, 2012
- Rise Above, a theater program for children in 1st – 5th grades with special needs that is the brainchild of two local tweens studying for their b’nai mitzvah that will be launching in the fall
- Trailblazers at the RJCC, an after-school social skills program for elementary school children with special needs that will be launching in the fall
- Special Needs Intern Training Institute, an internship program for high school students who want to earn college credit and learn to work with children who have special needs, which will be beginning in the fall
Pending a needs assessment, other new programs that the RJCC might bring to fruition could include after school programs, weekend respite for parents, expanded social opportunities for young adults, meaningful job opportunities for older teens.
Gersten, LMSW, ACSW, comes to the Rosenthal JCC from Westchester ARC, the Children’s School for Early Development, where she was a Team Leader in providing social work services to developmentally delayed preschoolers and their families in community based programs. Formerly, she served as a Foster Care Specialist through Bloomfield Youth Services in Connecticut, where she built from scratch the clinical support system and out-of-school engagement program for children and their foster parents in the school system. Gersten has more than 25 years of clinical and administrative experience including psychiatric hospital, outpatient, day treatment, school and residential programs servicing both children and adults.
Earlier this year, the Rosenthal JCC received a grant from the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation through UJA-Federation of New York to hire a coordinator who would comprehensively coordinate and deliver both existing programs and services while building new initiatives and streamlining collaboration with community partners.
Since its inception, the Rosenthal JCC has been mindful of the values of inclusivity and fairness, and has developed numerous well-reputed special needs programs. Some of those include Trailblazers at JCC Camp Discovery, an outstanding support system in its preschools, a state-of-the-art Occupational and Physical Therapy Center in collaboration with WJCS’ Milestones, and a “Parents for Parents” Special Needs Support Network.
“The underpinnings of these initiatives are firmly embedded in the RJCC’s mission, Jewish tradition, and the core values of social justice and responsibility that individuals have one for the other,” said Ellie Aronowitz, JCC Executive Director. “The Rosenthal JCC is proud that it has been able – to the very best of its ability – to ‘just say YES’ to individuals and families in need – to making programs, services and accommodations possible. With Robin on board, we will be able to say ‘yes’ more often.”
Adding Gersten to its team, the RJCC is enhancing its capacity to strategically plan, coordinate among other community organizations, and offer critical services for educational, social, recreational and cultural programs and services for individuals with special needs and developmental disabilities.
“Robin brings broad-based experience in developing and implementing special needs services for a variety of populations,” Aronowitz said. “She is knowledgeable, caring and energetic, and we are excited that she is joining the Rosenthal JCC team and working with our volunteer leadership.”
Anyone interested in meeting Robin is welcome to join the meeting of Parents for Parents Special Needs Support Group on Tuesday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m.
