New Jersey Jewish News
MetroWest Feature

Jobs program offers supervised settings for disabled adults

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

Marc Hirstreet sits just inside the door to the Village Apartments in South Orange, manning the guests’ sign-in sheet.

As residents of the senior citizens’ independent living complex wait for a ride or come to check their mailboxes, located just across from him, they exchange a few words.

Hirstreet, who assumed his post at Village Apartments on Feb. 7, comes every Tuesday and Wednesday. Sometimes he vacuums and sweeps floors, sometimes he helps with recycling, and most days, there is time for relaxed chats with the residents.

“I like it,” he told a visitor on a recent Wednesday. His last job, at McDonald’s, didn’t work out. “I was fired last year,” he said. The problem was that Hirstreet, who has a developmental disability, needed constant supervision, something McDonald’s could not provide.

Hirstreet’s new position is a result of a joint venture between JESPY House and the Jewish Community Housing Corporation, supported by a $32,000 grant from the Kessler Foundation. JESPY House is an independent living center for adults with learning disabilities and neurological impairments.
The project’s goal is to provide clients with vocational on-the-job training so that they will be able to gain competitive employment. There are 10 JESPY clients participating at two JCHC locations, Village Apartments and Federation Towers in Irvington.

Much of the supervision of the clients at Village Apartments falls to JESPY job coach Mark Marra. While he checks in regularly on those holding jobs like Hirstreet’s and those charged with manning the South Orange building’s tiny in-house store, he doesn’t leave the side of the two JESPY clients who handle the maintenance jobs, including vacuuming, mopping, and recycling.

“Eventually, I imagine they will do it on their own. But the vacuuming, especially with the plugs — I like to be around,” said Marra. He offers encouragement as well as instruction to the pair he is currently working with, Brian Braverman and Danny Tromberg. “Brian and Danny are really hard workers,” he said.

The partnership appealed immediately to JCHC executive director Harold Colton-Max. “When the subject came up of the possibility of JESPY clients coming to work in a building with [JCHC] clients, I thought is was a wonderful opportunity for us as agencies to collaborate for the benefit of the clients. Honestly, it seemed like a no-brainer,” he said.

On both sides of this equation there appears to be benefits, according to Colton-Max and Steve Corcoran, JESPY House’s vocational supervisor. The JESPY clients gain vocational training and social interaction, while the residents gain a sense of community. “It can be isolating [for the residents], even when they are around people the same age. And they desire interaction with people who are younger. This project provides variety and intellectual stimulation.” It also frees up some time for the building manager, Cheryl Kasye. She acknowledged that the on-site store was opened far less frequently before JESPY client Nancy Jacobs began working there and that clients now have more people to interact with.

Residents seem to be pleased with the arrangement. Resident Claire Bornstein dropped into the store to buy snacks, and she told Jacobs, “I come only when you’re here.” They laughed and chatted. Outside, near the elevator, Bornstein praised Jacobs. “She’s wonderful. She’s very competent, very efficient. Most of the people from JESPY are. They’re very nice, and I think they add a lot.”

The one-year grant was awarded in June to accommodate 15 JESPY clients, and the program began Feb. 7. An application for a one-year extension has already been submitted. So far, according to Corcoran, everyone who has been offered a spot has accepted except for a Russian speaker who JESPY administrators had hoped would be able to help out at Federation Towers, where many residents speak Russian. There are plans to add one more person at each facility.

But even administrators couldn’t say how long it might be before clients gain the skills necessary to move on to jobs outside the community. “As they develop skills and as any opportunities develop, if we find a good match, we will try to move our clients into the competitive world,” said Corcoran.

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