Easterseals New Jersey, the state’s largest disability services provider, and their Raritan Valley Work Center Advisory Board have presented Pennsauken native Senator Stephen M. Sweeney with the esteemed Good Samaritan Award. The award was presented at the annual Raritan Valley Work Center Dinner at the Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey. Senator Sweeney was recognized for his career-long commitment to the betterment of New Jerseyans with intellectual disabilities and special needs. His support has focused in large part on vocational rehabilitation opportunities, ensuring that people with special needs and disabilities across the state receive the best care and access to opportunities possible. The gala event took place during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a key time to shine a spotlight on the potential and lingering needs of people with disabilities.
“Senator Sweeney has demonstrated unwavering determination when fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, securing funding for programming, and raising awareness of the community’s needs,” said Brian Fitzgerald, president & CEO of Easterseals New Jersey. “Thanks to the leadership of individuals like Senator Sweeney, people living with disabilities and special needs in New Jersey have more opportunities to live, learn, work, and play in the Garden State.”
Senator Sweeney is widely recognized throughout New Jersey as being a powerful advocate for those with intellectual disabilities specifically. His work in this arena has included the sponsoring of legislation to remove the word “retardation” in state statutes and creating a statewide registry of offenders who abused individuals with developmental disabilities. He has lead efforts to both improve extraordinary special education throughout our state as well as restructure how it is funded so as to alleviate the monetary pressures felt by communities and parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities within our public school system.
The Senator has also been a vocal supporter of work centers like the Easterseals Raritan Valley Work Center, which gives New Jerseyans the option to learn the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. Currently, only about 20 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services from a state agency are employed in community jobs. He also fought to secure funding to increase pay for direct support professionals who provide care and instruction to program participants.
For 100 years, Easterseals has helped individuals and families with disabilities or special needs live, learn, work and play in their communities with equality, dignity and independence. Annually, over 5,000 people in New Jersey with developmental disabilities receive services in programs designed to help them achieve independence and full community-integration. For more information on Easterseals New Jersey and its statewide disability services, visit www.eastersealsnj.org.
