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Developmental Disabilities

Pathways to Progress: Building Better Support Systems

February 27, 2025 by Christine Pasqueralle

Located right on Marble Avenue in the heart of Pleasantville, you will find Select Human Services (SHS) – a division of New Hope Community, Inc. A place where young adults with developmental disabilities can gain independence, friendship and a wide variety of services. I recently spoke with Lauren Iglesias, Waiver Services Program Director and Carleen Miller-Verna, Self Direction Program Director about the organization’s services as well as their upcoming expansion in the Pleasantville community.

Select Human Services was founded in 2010 and partnered with New Hope Community in 2020. Under the direction of Debra McGinness, New Hope helps to empower the lives of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. SHS supports over 700 individuals through its services. It has allowed New Hope to expand into Westchester County from its homebase in the Catskills, giving people a greater choice of support services and the opportunity to implement dynamic change.

Lauren Iglesias started with SHS in 2015, providing waiver services through both Community Habilitation. It is designed for individuals to stay at home longer after graduating school, instead of living in a group home, and Respite which is a safe supervision for an individual, providing relief for the caregiver. Hires, knowns as Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are sourced through the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and matched with families after going through extensive training. 1:1 service is personalized to the individual and their disability and a care plan, known as a Life Plan, is put in place to identify goals and the best way to work with each individual. “We want quality, not quantity with our staff. The last thing families need is a revolving door in their house – we send one support person who fits so that their services can flourish.”

A New Path of Service – Select Connects

Since 2020 there has also been a shift in the ways services are being expected. In the old model, individuals graduated high school, went into a day program and moved into a residential setting. Parents wanted to break that mold and push for a different model. “Based on family feedback, we created Select Connects which is extremely different from anything we’ve done”, says Lauren. Opened in 2023, Select Connects is a site-based respite program which supports 24 people per day in a 9 a.m.-3 p.m. program. It’s for those individuals that can be successful in a 1:3 staffing ratio. Most people in Select Connects come a few days a week on days where they’re not doing something else such as working or attending another program. There are a wide variety of activities offered through skilled workers such as music therapy, yoga and recreational therapy. There are also outings and day trips to places such as the JCC in White Plains for swimming and gym time, Lasdon Park and more. As Lauren stated, “Everyone’s capabilities are utilized. We want to be out in the community and for them to see us. It’s like a big family.”

The R&R program (Recreation & Respite) allows those still in school and beyond to enjoy a variety of group activities and outings such as social nights, bowling, art, fitness and more. It provides them with a safe space in which they can have fun and be engaged – especially during times when parents may have to work, such as during the summer and school breaks.

Working closely with Lauren is Dominique Baptiste, Waiver Services Public Relations Manager. She has a caseload of people she services and has strong community ties to Pleasantville. Her fundraising and community outreach efforts are vast, working with the Chamber of Commerce and setting up events such as a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony, paint night and the upcoming inaugural Select Prom in April. As Lauren says, “We’re relatively small, but large when it comes to the service we provide and outreach in the county.”

Self Direction – Keeping Young Adults Independent

As Self Direction Program Director, Carleen Miller-Verna manages the Self Direction program which oversees 217 individuals with disabilities. It helps to empower them and their families to design a service plan based on their needs and goals. Their support team can include family members, Care Manager, Broker, Fiscal Intermediary (both chosen by the individual) and others they would like to include in their care. Many people in this program work part-time jobs and attend day programs and community classes. Twenty-three of the individuals live independently with support. As Carleen says, “Self Direction is trying to give that person the highest level of independence they can safely achieve. A huge piece of what we’re trying to include in Self Direction is interaction and inclusion.” Five individuals in the program are enrolled in college programs – some at Syracuse University in their InclusiveU program which allows for students to live on campus, taking classes in subjects such as organization and scheduling.

SHS has recently purchased a new building in Pleasantville right down the street from where they’re currently located and are hoping to move into the space in April. Says Lauren, “It’s important to stay in Pleasantville – we have strong collaborations with the school district, police department, etc. They’ve gotten to know us, and we feel comfortable working with each other. Pleasantville is very near and dear to Debra McGinness – she knows the importance of staying here with all there is to do in the area.”

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Developmental Disabilities, Empowering the Disabled, gain independence, New Hope Community, site-based respite program, support services

Volunteers and People with Developmental Disabilities Alike Find a Lifelong Home at The Arc Westchester

November 10, 2023 by Molly Reinmann

Some organizations accept help from community volunteers. Some send volunteers out into the community. The Arc Westchester does both. The Arc Westchester is the largest organization in Westchester County that provides lifelong services to people of all ages with developmental disabilities. The Arc Westchester has a “robust” volunteer program, according to Chief Executive Officer Tibi Guzmán. They often accept volunteers from businesses and local corporations, as well as from high schools. “We offer lifelong services to 240 people in 44 residents throughout Westchester,” Guzmán said. “We have residents who have been with us for up to 34 years. The Arc Westchester is an organization that has been meeting for 74 years. We are community-focused and promote our values in each program we offer.”

Todd Bazzini, who has served as the Director of Volunteer Services & Fund Development at Arc since 2019, echoed Guzmán’s compliments of the organization’s volunteer program. He spoke to the incredible diversity within the group of volunteers that come into The Arc Westchester. Volunteers range from high schoolers to an eighty-year-old retired surgeon.

“I love this. I love our guys, I love our gang,” Bazzini said. “I love to find people that want to get involved and really have an experience like no other. You open your heart and you meet someone that’s just totally different than you, and you just have a great experience. And that’s how I cultivate our base of partners, whether it’s corporate, or high school, or someone who’s retired and wants to get involved.”

Connecting with the Community

The most unique thing about our volunteer program is that it is “full circle,” according to Guzmán.  While volunteers frequently come in and work with people with developmental disabilities, The Arc Westchester also empowers people with developmental disabilities to go back out into the community and volunteer themselves.

She said that 50% of the people they serve participate in The Arc Westchester day programs go out and volunteer out in the community. In this way, the organization is not only supporting people with developmental disabilities but also supporting other nonprofits in the community.

Bazzini said that individuals supported at The Arc Westchester put in about 12,000 hours of volunteer work per year at other Westchester nonprofits.

“They’re in the community working and making a real difference,” Bazzini said. “That’s really the mission of The Arc Westchester, to enable someone who has a disability to live a full and enriching life.”

Two volunteers who work with people with developmental disabilities supported by The Arc also shared their experiences.

Michael Briganti began working with individuals with developmental disabilities as an undergraduate at Notre Dame. After graduating college, Briganti went on to work in finance for 41 years, during which he scarcely found the time for volunteering.

When he retired, though, he was eager to resume working with people with disabilities.

“I was looking around and doing a lot of research about where I could do this,” Briganti said. “As I was reading more and more, The Arc Westchester really stood out. They’ve been around 74 years, they have so many different programs, from guardianship to career development, to recreation. It just seemed like they were more experienced than anywhere else.”

With the help of Bazzini, Briganti put together a program where he plays sports with people with developmental disabilities supported by The Arc once a week. He works with a group of four to ten individuals ranging from age 26 to 34.

A Sense of Accomplishment

They play soccer, frisbee, football, tag and more. When the weather isn’t accommodating, Briganti and the people he works with go to the mall to play board games, cards or bingo. “Seeing their sense of accomplishment when they get something done, or the smile on their face when they have a good play, or the laughter when I mess up – which they love – it gives you a warm feeling,” he said “You know you’re making them happy and making a difference. It’s very, very fulfilling.”

In addition to his weekly group sports program, Briganti also meets once a week with a 28 year old living in one of Arc’s residences in Yonkers, who is a sports-data fanatic. When together, the two “grab a pizza and talk sports,” Briganti said.

Briganti said that he likes working consistently with the same small group of students, because it allows him to develop a relationship and really get to know the individuals he works with.

Just as he gets to know the individuals with developmental disabilities that he works with, those individuals also get to know him, Briganti said. They regularly ask about his family, his wife and his dogs.

While they call him “coach,” he considers them his friends.

For his birthday in March, Briganti’s students got together to put together a heartfelt gift. Along with a decorated poster and a framed picture of him and them, the individuals gave him a T-shirt that says “Coach Mike” on the front and has a group picture on the back.

He now tries to wear it every week when he goes to sessions. After months of volunteering with The Arc Westchester, Briganti joined their Board of Directors. “In this position, I can use my financial expertise and learn more about the company while still volunteering,” he said. “And that’s just what I want.  While it is still early, I have been very impressed with the Board’s work.”

“The passion I’ve always had for the Arc’s mission, started in college and increased drastically when I got involved with The Arc,” he said. “I saw the impact that you could make when volunteering is arranged in such an organized way to make an impact. You see that the passion and the direction that they have as an organization to really execute their mission, vision, and values.”

Unlike Briganti, Manochere Alamgir had never worked with individuals with developmental disabilities before getting involved with The Arc. He first learned about Arc while reading in the Chappaqua Public Library, when he saw a group of Arc Westchester program participants exploring the library computers. The next day, he stopped by The Arc office and asked to volunteer.

He started out by hosting weekly meetings with groups of students. In those initial meetings, Alamgir would play spelling bee with students, or participate in a book club.

“But then I remember thinking that I wanted to bring something different to the table,” Alamgir said. “I wanted to talk to them, provided I could keep their attention, about banking and checking accounts and savings and stuff like that. And I tried to make it as fun as possible.”

Alamgir, who was a banker for over 30 years, drew upon and incorporated his own skills into his volunteerism with The Arc. According to Bazzini, this is a pillar of Arc’s mission-driven volunteerism.

In addition to teaching individuals about banking, Alamgir also runs a very popular weekly bingo session.

“I am driven by the desire to enable people to make their lives better,” he said. “So Arc is just the right thing for me. They have a very specific mission to enable young adults to become productive part of the community, with the ability to participate and to contribute. For me, just seeing them is a huge reward.”

When COVID hit and he could no longer run his trivia sessions in person, Alamgir adapted quickly, leading virtual bingo. He added in a trivia element to the weekly programming, which was viewed favorably by the people with whom he worked.

“I am successful in my professional career,” Alamgir said. “I have a wonderful family, two kids. You know, everything is fantastic. And this little piece of what I do, the reward that I get from that is absolutely amazing, and it’s not, it’s not easy to describe that. If there is anyone who is contemplating doing this, you can always find a niche for yourself, and there is nothing more rewarding.”

The Arc Westchester is the largest agency in Westchester County supporting children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families. Over 700 employees provide more than 2,000 individuals throughout the county with a broad range of innovative and effective programs and services designed to foster independence, productivity and participation in community life. Learn more at www.arcwestchester.org

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Arc Westchester, Community Volunteers, Developmental Disabilities

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