This section of our blog shares updates from across our network. We’re proud to share stories about what the people we support and our staff are achieving every day.
On August 8, a group of future job-seekers from YAI Westbury got a taste of what it’s like to work for one of the nation’s largest clothing retailers. During their visit to Old Navy’s store in Hempstead, New York, participants spent the day shadowing employees as part of the retailer’s ON the Job program.
As YAI Headquarters prepares to relocate, staff at Premier HealthCare and YAI’s Center for Specialty Therapy (CST) are making sure that the people they support are equally prepared. The move, which facilitates YAI’s evolution into a more modern and agile organization, will take place over Labor Day weekend and will transition YAI’s administrative offices as well as the Manhattan offices for Premier and CST from Tenth Avenue to the East Side.
Vanessa Alicea and her son are no strangers to the stress and frustration that comes with trying to communicate during a crisis. Diagnosed with autism as a toddler, Alicea’s son has often struggled to convey his emotions and needs in a way his mother could understand.
On July 25, YAI’s annual Leadership Summit drew 305 of the organization’s senior staff for a day of team building, professional development, and valuable insights from a world-famous leadership coach.
On June 26, a man at YAI’s Alan Butger residence in Queens got a special visit from some old friends. As a child, Heimowitz spent 8 years in the Boy Scouts. Ever since he left, he has longed to reconnect with the organization that played such an important role in his early life.
Mary Cronin, a woman who attends YAI Brentwood’s Day Habilitation Program, is eager to share her stories. Between her many interests and large network of friends and family, she has no shortage of material.
On June 27, YAI staff threw a summer-themed party to celebrate people we support who completed this spring’s Life Skills, a class provided by YAI’s Transition to Independence program.
On June 14, The Atlantic released a documentary in which YAI’s Connie Senior drives home the importance of sexual rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
