March Is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Whether cooking a meal at home, rapping at our day habilitation program or exploring the community with a "day on the town," the individuals we serve Network enjoy the freedom to define their goals and engage in meaningful activities to help them achieve them.
Assisting Some 700 Individuals Live with Greater
Independence and Dignity
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.
Each day, more than 700 people live with dignity and as independently as possible through family support and entitlement and eligibility programs throughout New York City.
Offering a Continuum of Residential Services
Our homes integrate care into the community and celebrate residents’ cultures and traditions. Using a person-centered approach, Network’s housing and residential programs cover a broad array of alternatives, from 24-hour staff supervised residences to serve those with the greatest needs, to apartment living with ongoing supports for those able to live more independently in the community.
Network’s model of care focuses on assisting residents to develop daily living skills, integrate within the community where they live, receive necessary medical care, develop pre-employment skills and become more self-reliant.
Each day, more than 400 individuals live with dignity in our housing alternatives. Residents have an active role in decorating their bedrooms with motifs of their choosing. Fred enjoys being surrounded by superheroes and his favorite sports teams.
Day Habilitation Programs Help Individuals to Flourish and Grow
At our day habilitation programs, Network recognizes that every individual is unique — having different strengths, challenges, and interests. We help individuals, with intellectual/ developmental disabilities, flourish where they can learn and grow while doing something that truly interests them. Network’s Community and Day Habilitation programs are structured around those principles.
This year individuals in our day habilitation programs raised more than $21,000 to purchase food for WellLife's four food pantries to provide Thanksgiving and holiday meals for some 500 indigent individuals on Long Island.
Whether activities take place in their home or in one of our five-day programs, we help adults with I/DD, reach their greatest social, educational, life and community potential by offering them a variety of activities that stimulate their interest and growth. We offer learning experiences through theater arts, computer skills, cooking classes, basic nutrition and wellness, physical fitness, preparing for work and helping others through volunteering. We assess each individual’s strengths and needs and help them to select activities that will help them achieve their goals and track their progress in the program.
Our programs are approved for service by the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the New York State Department of Health.
