A while ago, the Hudson County chapter of The Arc of New Jersey (once the Association of Retarded Citizens), one of the first Arcs in the state, temporarily closed its offices – but now it’s back.
Originally founded by a group of parents back in 1947 who “had a vision of building better quality of life” for those with developmental disabilities and their families, the Arc of New Jersey is a statewide, private, nonprofit advocacy organization with a satellite office in almost every county of New Jersey.
According to their website, “The Arc of New Jersey is also affiliated with The Arc, a national organization on mental retardation with 1,200 chapters nationwide.”
Now with the reinstatement of the Hudson County chapter based out of Union City, the Arc will have a location in every county.
“This community really needs the services. That’s why they hired me to re-establish,” said Sandra Vasquez, director of the Arc and Hudson County Community Services. “In Hudson County there are not that many programs this population can go to and provide bi-lingual information for these families.”
What is the Arc?
With 21 chapters in the state, the Arc of New Jersey considers it their mission to “promote and advocate for the welfare of persons whose primary disability is mental retardation, and to foster the development of appropriate programs to enhance their quality of life.”
Vasquez said, “It started in Bergen County by a group of parents who wanted a better life for their sons and daughters, and people in general with developmental disabilities.”
The Arc provides various programs including after-school care for children and a day program for adults. There are also group support meetings and services offered to their families. Originally the Arc had reopened a satellite office in Union City known as the Hudson County Resource Center that provided the day adult program, and due to the growing need seen in the community, a children’s program was added in 2001. Vasquez was brought in to oversee the operation and transition the office into a full-fledged chapter of The Arc.
“We had a day program for adults in the satellite sight for The Arc,” said Vasquez. “We established family support groups on a monthly basis from 6 to 8 p.m., where we support each other, share information, and bring guest speakers depending on the topic.”
Overall, there are about 10 staff members running the office, plus volunteers from the local high schools as well such as from Union Hill in Union City, Memorial in West New York, and Hudson County Schools of Technology in North Bergen.
“They’re very helpful,” said Vasquez. “Memorial is our number one high school. They’re very supportive of the Arc.
The programs
The Arc assists individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in getting information about various community-based services and organizations, usually sponsored by Hudson County Community Services. The family support groups meet on a monthly basis offering support and information through guest speakers and workshops. The recreational program provides activities for both children and young adults with developmental disabilities and their siblings, which include a holiday party, an annual picnic and Halloween party.
For the annual parties and picnic, the Arc traditionally gets a lot of aid through the community. They receive donated toys from churches, and Vasquez also mentioned that Mayor Brian Stack and his administration assist with the donations as well. Food donations for the parties are made by local community restaurants.
The after-school program, run from the main office, caters to children with disabilities ages 6 through 21, and runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. The kids get to participate in arts and crafts, dance, story time, and learn overall personal skills. It is also a place for them to just play or watch movies. The staff and volunteers usually have a schedule of activities to do with the kids each day. Transportation arrangements to the site have to be arranged by the family, who usually ship the kids from school to the center.
Once after-care is over, the children need to be picked up. For the moment, only eight children can be enrolled in a program at a time. Three staff supervisors oversee the program and volunteers from schools such as New Jersey City University and St. Peter’s College come in to help with the kids.
“In this organization there is room for advancement,” said Vasquez. “It’s a big organization, which has been around for more than 53 years.”
The employment day program is a community-based program set to help people with developmental disabilities gain skills and experiences leading “to fuller participation in their communities, with the ultimate goal of employment for participants.”
“We call this population Consumers,” said Vasquez. “They work one hour a day and work for minimum wage. The ultimate goal is employment, so they can work in the future.”
Currently this program has an enrollment capacity of 24 for any adult with developmental disabilities from the age of 25 on. Overseeing this program is one supervisor and assistant supervisor, plus three additional technicians. This program has the people meet at the main office and then get transported to their places of employment. It runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The whole goal of these programs is to give its participants a sense on independence and confidence, and just being productive members of society like everyone else.
How to participate
In order for any child or adult to take part in the programs, they must first be referred by the state Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), which funds the programs sponsored by the Arc.
“You have to contact DDD then they send us the referral if they qualify,” said Vasquez. “They’re the ones who fund us, but we’re not affiliated with the state.”
Thanks to grants sponsored by places like the Provident Bank and the funds raised by their own projects such as an annual walk-a-thon, the Arc is also able to hire part-time help for their programs.