Jawonio, located in the Mid-Hudson Region of NYS celebrated its 75th Anniversary and completion of its campus redevelopment project, funded in part by Empire State Development.
New City, NY — 7.24.22 Friday June 22, 2022 at 10:30am, Jawonio, the non-profit disability and mental health services provider for children, adults and families celebrated its 75th Anniversary and the completion of its $20 Million dollar campus redevelopment project creating a new state of the art campus for its breadth of lifespan services. The ceremony was hosted by Janice Huff, Chief Meteorologist, NBC4NY and Honorary Chair of the Jawonio Capital Campaign. The program included remarks from Hope Knight, President & CEO of Empire State Development, Kerri Neifeld, Commissioner of NYS OPWDD, in addition to elected officials; NYS Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, NYS Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, NYS Assemblyman Mike Lawler, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, Teresa Kenny, Orangetown Supervisor and Donna Silberman, Rockland County Clerk. Sandra Sewell, one of the first Jawonio children whose parents were involved in the founding of the organization, kicked off the festivities. The program was followed by a ribbon cutting and reception.
“We are so proud to celebrate 75 years of serving the community. We are thrilled to welcome our donors, supporters and friends to see our beautiful new campus and celebrate not only our history but our future. Thanks to our thousands of generous supporters, our new campus will allow us to serve children, adults and families for generations to come,” said Randi Rios-Castro, CEO Jawonio.
ESD President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “We are committed to creating jobs and opportunities for all New Yorkers, and Jawonio’s new corporate headquarters, workforce training and education facilities will help to ensure that we continue to do so. We’re proud to support this lifespan services provider in building greater equity in our talent pipeline, which will also boost the economy in the Mid-Hudson region and beyond.”
OPWDD Commissioner Kerri Neifeld said, “The long-anticipated completion of this beautiful campus revitalization and the enhanced services and supports it will bring to people with developmental disabilities of all ages will help to ensure their needs will be met now and into the future. I applaud Governor Hochul and Empire State Development for supporting this venture to expand services and opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
Bill Van Slyck, Parent Advocate, Member of the Jawonio Board of Directors and Major Capital Campaign Donor said, “Our son Alex lives at the Fisher residence. He has never been ale to walk or talk. As our 1st child, my wife, Terry and I were at our wits end. We were referred to Jawonio who took us in with open arms. We were just so distraught, and they gave us 5 words that literally saved our lives – ‘Everything is going to be okay.’ After that we knew we were home.”
Jawonio, with a workforce of close to 1000 professionals in Rockland, Westchester and Orange Counties, provides lifespan services from infants through end of life with a variety of services including early intervention, special education preschool, summer education, vocational and employment services, residential and day services and recovery based mental health services and care management.