4 — April 27, 2017 — News-Record

R E D E F I N I N G A G R E A T

Arts E X P E R I E N C EROGER MCGUINNTHU, MAY 4 AT 7:30PM

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SONGS AND STORIES WITH KATHY MATTEA FEATURING BILL COOLEY

SAT, MAY 6 AT 8PM

JUILLARD @ SOPAC JUILLIARD JAZZ ENSEMBLESUN, MAY 7 AT 3PM

DAVID BROMBERG QUINTETTHU, MAY 11 AT 7:30PM

THE SECOND CITY “WE’RE ALL IN THIS ROOM TOGETHER”FRI, MAY 12 AT 8PM

FRI, MAY 5 AT 8PMStormy Love — Songs of Seduction and Obsession

Buy Tickets Today! Visit www.SOPACnow.org or call (973) 313-2787

THE WEIGHT FEATURING FORMER MEMBERS OF THE BAND, LEVON HELM BAND AND RICK DANKO GROUPSAT, MAY 13 AT 8PM

JOAN OSBORNE SINGS THE SONGS OF BOB DYLANFRI, MAY 19 AT 8PM

AMERICAN THEATER GROUP: A STAGED READING IN THE SOPAC LOFT — A MIND OUT OF THE GUTTERSUN, MAY 21 AT 7PM

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JESPY House: one of the best-kept secrets in the villageBy Dennis Brady

Staff WriterFor the last 40 years, a dedicated group located on

Prospect Street in South Orange has been working witharea adults with disabilities who are striving to live inde-pendent lives. The staff of JESPY House assists clientsranging in age from 19 to 69 in developing essential lifeskills. This nonprofit organization promotes the efforts ofboth self-direction and community integration withinMaplewood and South Orange.

JESPY House first opened in 1978 with just three staffmembers and four clients with a variety of disabilities.Through the years, the organization has been able to givedisabled adults a family-like living opportunity tailored totheir levels of independence. In 1998, through the contri-bution of the Laurie Foundation, the organization pur-chased a private residence in the community to providehousing that both teaches and promotes the self-reliancethat JESPY House tirelessly works to instill in its clients.Today, five homes are part of a“shared housing” program,all within walking distance of the original JESPY House.Approximately 35 clients live in JESPY House facilities,and the staff serves more than 120 clients who live inde-pendently in apartments or condominiums within theMaplewood-South Orange community.

Audrey Winkler, the new executive director of JESPYHouse, emphasized that clients do not simply reside inSouth Orange and Maplewood — they lead full lives that areintegrated within the community at large.

“As JESPY House has grown in size and scope, so toohas our impact on the local community,” Winkler told theNews-Record recently. “Today JESPY serves 240 clients,most of whom live in South Orange, enjoying solid rela-tionships with their neighbors and landlords. Clients fre-quent local shops, restaurants and food markets, contribut-ing to the local economy. Through our long-term multilevel

interactions, local residents, landlords, municipal serviceproviders and business owners accept and value our clientsfor the important role they play as contributing citizens ofour community.”

According to Winkler, the transition services providedby JESPY House create an easier transformation to adult-hood. The JESPY House helps to gradually move clientsfrom a high school classroom to their day program andrecreation department. This transition service providesopportunities for the clients to try new things, meet newindividuals with disabilities within the community andwork toward independent living.

Michelle Rampersant-Faulk, the work-readiness andemployment-engagement supervisor at the organization,said JESPY House’s main goal is to get its clients out into

the world with the tools they need to succeed.“JESPY House’s goal is to provide clients with the

resources they need to be as independent as possible,therefore preparing clients for the workforce and support-ing them with work-related challenges is an enormouslyimportant element of our program,” Rampersant-Faulktold the News-Record. “Nearly 200 of our clients dependon our work-readiness and employment-engagementdepartment for information, guidance and support to helpthem to be successful. Some clients work or volunteer atlocal businesses in South Orange and others take localtransportation to jobs in the greater Essex County area.”

Rampersant-Faulk’s department uses up-to-date practicesto try to prepare the clients as much as possible for job posi-tions they could find in the community. This training is bothon-site and off as JESPY House creates a personal perform-ance plan for each client to monitor and strive for their setgoals. This department helps clients take an active role in thecommunity by partnering with local businesses, synagogues,churches and other Maplewood-South Orange staples.

Among JESPY House’s many offerings, a cultural artsprogram allows for development in the expression ofclients’ thoughts and emotions and for finding self-confi-dence. The cultural arts include activities ranging from cre-ative writing to yoga to graphic design.

Community-based supports supervisor Tara Robertssaid that seeing the clients of JESPY House succeed is feltas a personal success for each staff member.

“I support our clients’ desire to lead full, productive,independent lives and connect with the community theylive, work and socialize in,” Roberts told the News-Record.“I admire their zest for life, their passion for all that JESPYHouse provides them with, the way they support oneanother. It makes me proud to be part of an organizationwhich empowers individuals to be all they can be despitethe many challenges they face in their daily lives.”

JESPY House, above, provides myriad servicesand programs for adults with disabilities whoare working to live independent lives within thecommunity.

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