A group of East Brunswick residents is calling for the township to provide structured employment opportunities for people with disabilities once they graduate from high school.
“Many of our kids who have various disabilities, whether it’s learning or physical, get job training in our public schools, which is wonderful,” resident Audrey Weiner said. “But it doesn’t always carry into the work world. They are getting trained to work in places, but don’t always have the opportunity in our regular workforce to use [the training].”
Weiner, who has a 20-year-old daughter, circulated a petition and now facilitates a group of parents asking for Mayor David Stahl’s support in having the municipality provide job opportunities for people who are disabled.
The group also wants the municipality to encourage businesses to embrace employees with disabilities, Weiner said.
“I would say [people with disabilities] are just as good, and maybe more hardworking,” Weiner said. “They are out there getting training and getting a lot of different experience. They are smart, and just because they are disabled, it doesn’t mean they don’t think well.”
The initiative, Weiner said, was inspired by the Snack Shack in Edison, which opened late last year.
Located in Edison’s municipal complex, the Snack Shack is a food store staffed by people with disabilities, and was created through a partnership between Edison and the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities (NJID).
An on-site supervisor oversees the Snack Shack’s daily operation through a Community Development Block Grant.
“I think that when the Snack Shack came out originally, it kind of stirred up a bunch of parents [of young adults] around the same age as my daughter in their 20s, getting close or closing in on working age,” Weiner said. “I see the need, and other parents see the need, to help kids in our school system to continue to go forward so they have a place to go as they [transition] into the workforce.”
Residents of East Brunswick with special needs are provided with job training by the school district until they turn 21, at which point many parents express concern about where and how their children will find jobs, Weiner said.
Carla Israel said she is worried about what will happen once her 20-year-old daughter graduates in 2016.
Currently, her daughter receives job training at places such as the East Brunswick Planning Board office, but that will no longer be provided to her upon leaving school, Israel said.
“I can’t — and I won’t — have her sit home all day on her iPad,” Israel said. “It’s not fair to her. It’s not fair to us, and it’s a big quandary. I want to find something — a job, basically — where she’s productive in the community, where she can go and hopefully earn some money.”
Israel, Weiner and several residents have had meetings with Stahl to discuss the issue. They have scheduled a meeting at the East Brunswick Public Library on April 13, where they will further brainstorm ideas about how to create a space similar to the Snack Shack.
According to Weiner, Stahl has offered the use of a municipally owned office space at 350 Dunhams Corner Road if they can come up with an idea for how to use the building, which does not have kitchen facilities, she said.
“We’re trying to think of businesses [to use] for that space, and some of what came up was making copies, working on computers, data entry or service-oriented for the community,” Weiner said. “We have the space at 350 Dunhams Corner Road, but we would also like to look further toward [something like] a Snack Shack and provide extra opportunities for our kids.”
Debra Aidelman, director of vocational services at The Arc of Middlesex County, said the private nonprofit operates career centers for developing pre-vocational skills and supported employment services for individuals with special needs.
She agreed with the East Brunswick parents seeking job support within the municipality.
“I think The Arc of Middlesex would absolutely be able to be a partner and collaborator in developing something,” Aidelman said.
She said there are not enough job opportunities for individuals with special needs.
“I believe that there are opportunities,” she said, “but I wish there were more.”
The North Brunswick-based nonprofit is planning an open house for parents 3-6 p.m. May 7 at 219 Black Horse Lane.
Venus Majeski, director of development and community relations at NJID, who was involved with the creation of the Snack Shack, will be in attendance at the April 13 meeting to help the East Brunswick residents and officials formulate ideas.
According to Majeski, the Snack Shack operation was the first of its kind when it was built in Edison, and she said she has always been interested in replicating the model somewhere else.
“I believe the thinking [about individuals with disabilities] is changing and evolving, and that’s part of it, in recognizing that there needs to be some initiative to create jobs — real jobs — for people with disabilities,” Majeski said. “I think that municipalities are becoming more initiated, as is the federal government, because there is that growing understanding now that people with disabilities must be seen as [part of] the community.
“It’s not a handout. It’s really just opening a door that should not have been closed.”
East Brunswick offers programs for people with special needs, including the Daisy Recreation Program, which provides recreation and leisure-time activities.
“I think East Brunswick has always been a leader in providing special-needs programs for special-needs children and adults,” Township Administrator James White said. “So it’s certainly something I’m sure the mayor would be open to discussing.”
Stahl was not available for comment.
To view or sign the petition, email Audrey Weiner at [email protected].