Appreciates support for housing for disabled
Barbara Anderson
Guest Column

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to Chairwoman Mary Ann Gurliaccio and the Old Bridge Housing Authority for their persistence and hard work in getting the Chuck Costello Independent Living Center for independent individuals with disabilities closer to a reality.

After rumors a lot of us heard that this facility would not be considered because it would house drug addicts and criminals, many parents, guardians and disabled adults rallied at the recent Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting to show support for this innovative project.

This is 2004 — enough with the stigma of being labeled an individual with a disability. Our disabled citizens are not drug addicts because they need medication for various issues such as ADHD (attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder), or seizures, or other medical problems. They are not criminals, either. They are our children who we love very much, and they are productive citizens of this town, state and country. What happens to them when we, their parents and guardians, are gone? They need a place to live, and they want to stay in the community where they grew up, work and have their friends.

Individuals with disabilities in Old Bridge, in New Jersey and nationwide are among the neediest for low-income housing, and we all cheered when the board unanimously voted at last week’s special meeting to approve a use variance for this first-of-its-kind project in the county.

Special thanks also to parent Edna Gordon, who went out of her way to personally hand deliver a letter from the Middlesex County Freeholders promising to give $1.5 million toward this facility.

Pennrose Properties Inc. and its professionals presented plans for this 61-apartment facility, similar to other successful projects they have built. We were introduced to Allies Inc., a wonderful organization that works with Pennrose to help individuals with disabilities to live and work as independently as possible. We look forward to working with these companies and their caring staff members.

We also are very honored to have this development named after Chuck Costello, who, without hesitation, gave his life for his fellowman in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Thank you to the parents and to Anita Clavering, a longtime Old Bridge advocate for individuals with disabilities, who spoke in favor of this development. Thank you to Township Councilmen Reggie Butler, Richard Greene and especially Kevin Calogera, who spoke in public in favor of this project. Thank you to Mayor Jim Phillips, who came to the board meeting to show his support for disabled citizens. Thank you to the township officials who have been working to meet the deadline set by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency to ensure a 9-percent tax credit for financing this project.

We hope that in the near future our township officials will also consider the needs of many of our disabled children and adults who cannot live independently. Some of our children need assistance with everyday things like taking medication and handling their finances, and they cannot drive or take public transportation on their own. They need constant support and supervision.

The state keeps changing the crite­ria for living for these individuals and is no longer building group homes. We, their parents, are getting older every day, and some of our more dependent children will probably never be able to move out of their cur­rent homes. Many disabled adults are currently taking care of their aging parents.

Perhaps Pennrose Properties would consider plans for a similar type of development for this special population, also. Old Bridge has set a precedent in the county and state for independent living, so why not set an­other one?

Barbara Anderson is president of Special Projects for Special Children, Old Bridge