Videos, Webinars, and Presentations

New Jersey Human Services Awards $3.5 Million in Additional Grants to Grow Inclusive Healthy Communities Since January 2021, $10.9 Million in Total Grants Have Been Awarded to 39 Organizations to Help Improve the Overall Health of Individuals with Disabilities NJ Department of Human ServicesJune 10, 2025 (TRENTON) – Commissioner Sarah Adelman today announced the Department of Human Services has awarded an additional 14 grants to help organizations across the state implement inclusive initiatives that support individuals with disabilities in the communities in which they live, work, learn, and play. “The Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) Grant Program is helping bring innovative and evidence-based ideas to life — projects that are making a real difference in individuals’ daily lives,” said Commissioner Sarah Adelman. “By supporting these efforts, we’re continuing to build a New Jersey where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. This work is more important than ever, and we’re proud to partner with the Bloustein School at Rutgers University as we support the 2025 grantees in creating meaningful, lasting change across our communities.” First launched in January 2021, the IHC Grant Program is an initiative spearheaded by Human Services’ Division of Disability Services (DDS) to support communities and ensure the voices

Nutley Family Service Bureau will host its first “Inclusive Mental Health Symposium: Enhancing Provider Understanding of Mental Health for Persons with Disabilities,” on April 24, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm. The event is funded by the New Jersey Division of Disability Services through the Inclusive Healthy Communities initiative.  Register for symposium Nutley Family Service Bureau March 25, 2025 As Executive Director of the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Elizabeth Hill advocates for the increased accessibility of programs and services for deaf and hard of hearing communities. The Division manages a wide range of services such as hearing aid programs, equipment distribution, case management, hearing sensitivity training, and education for service providers and organizations. They also manage directories for sign language interpreters and real-time transcription providers. Elizabeth’s career journey began in mental health, providing licensed clinical social work for the deaf and hard of hearing communities and coordinating accessible mental health services for children and families. “I’ve always been passionate about breaking down barriers and working towards a more inclusive community,” said Elizabeth, who is deaf herself. “Deaf and hard of hearing people deserve to be on a level playing field with

Being an effective member of an advisory committee requires learning complex skills. Elizabeth Boyajian / Spectrum for LivingMarch 20, 2025 Inclusion Across the Spectrum is a transformative program designed to integrate adults with developmental disabilities into Bergen County’s Advisory Boards. By serving on advisory committees, individuals with disabilities engage in meaningful volunteer opportunities, becoming both consumers of services and providers of important feedback for policy and system change. This duality fosters a deeper understanding of service systems and empowers individuals to approach policy discussions from both a personal and collective standpoint. Navigating the dual roles of being a consumer of services and a provider of thoughts and ideas through local government and volunteer committee service can be complex, but it is an essential part of creating inclusive and empowered communities. The role of a consumer typically involves accessing services and advocating for one’s own needs, while the provider focuses on offering insights, feedback, and solutions that can improve services for others. Balancing these two roles requires an individual to adopt multiple perspectives, often necessitating complex thinking and compartmentalization of different viewpoints and needs. It can be mentally taxing to switch between advocating for personal needs as a consumer and offering

Alison Mitchell / NJ Conservation FoundationMarch 17, 2025 Sean Kane-Holland is on a mission to make parks and trails more accessible for everyone. As Access Nature Disability Advocate at Pineland Preservation Alliance (PPA), he has evaluated dozens of trails throughout the state for barriers to people with disabilities. Sean understands many of these obstacles. “I use crutches and a wheelchair but I am a very active person,” says Kane-Holland. “I go kayaking by myself, I go hiking … I am very mobile.” Yet, natural areas in New Jersey can be seriously challenging – if not impossible – for the one in four adults in the state who have a disability. There are many factors that discourage or outright prevent people from enjoying natural places. An overall lack of accommodation at many public spaces can leave visitors feeling unwanted, unsafe, and uncomfortable. Last year, Peri Nearon, executive director of New Jersey Division of Disability Services (DDS), attended an event where a wheelchair-bound speaker admitted that she had given up on nature. “She was scared,” says Nearon. Given all we know about the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outdoors, we should be looking to increase access to outdoor spaces

NJTIP @ Rutgers August 14, 2024 All of us, including people with disabilities, want and need access to a diverse array of services and opportunities in our day-to-day lives, including but not limited to recreational and social activities, employment, healthcare, continuing education, grocery shopping, banking, etc. Transportation is the essential link uniting these needs but is too often overlooked until a person can’t get to the destination he or she wants or needs to reach. This is where the New Jersey Travel Independence Program, or NJTIP @ Rutgers, comes in. The mission of NJTIP is to increase the independence of people with disabilities, older adults, and others by empowering them to use the public transportation system safely and independently. To achieve their mission, the NJTIP program, which is part of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, offers individual travel instruction, as well as group training to people with disabilities, older adults, caregivers, and other professionals. NJTIP @ Rutgers Director Andrea Lubin explains: We are delighted to work with IHC grantees to advance the goal of fuller mobility access for all. It’s vital to recognize that transportation access is a significant challenge for many New Jersey adults living

https://youtu.be/YYBA5xW9eAA?si=BhJsriXO-OdBIruK It’s always rewarding to see our grant recipients’ work in action. Young Audiences of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania recently shared a video of second-grade students at Walter C. Black Elementary School in Hightstown, N.J., taking part in a mask-making workshop with teaching artist Marilyn Keating. Young Audiences is an arts education organization providing artist-led programming across all art forms and in partnership with schools. Their mission is to inspire young people and to expand their learning through the arts. United We Discover is YA’s IHC initiative and provides a school-based arts residency with partner schools for students with disabilities and their classmates, educators and families. Watch the video below to learn more about Young Audience’ IHC initiative. https://youtu.be/9bdVEns6UM8?si=SEQpaHWifsdypK_V News View All

Andrea Lubin / IHCFebruary 28, 2024 Members of the Rutgers IHC management support team visited the Paul Robeson Community School for the Arts in New Brunswick, N.J., this month to experience the dynamic artwork created by students with disabilities engaged with IHC grantee Young Audiences’ (YA) programming. A series of over 30 paintings and drawings created by students from four classes at Paul Robeson were displayed at the school’s media center, with students visiting and engaging with the colorful and impactful art pieces. Visual artist and residency instructor Molly Gaston Johnson shared that over a 12-week period, students have learned about processes of painting and how painting can be an expressive language, serving as a tool to explore and express feelings including happiness, anger, sadness and fear. Several student artists on-site the day of the visit proudly pointed out their work to visitors, with one sharing his joy in learning painting techniques including sgraffito, and others pointing out how they opted to blend and layer different colors and techniques in their pieces. Some of the students also chose to connect words to image in their pieces as a way to communicate their story. Young Audiences is an arts education organization

From left to right: Peri L. Nearon, Division of Disability Services Executive Director; Carleton Montgomery, Pinelands Preservation Alliance Executive Director; Sarah Adelman, NJ Department of Human Services Commissioner. Impact of Inclusive Healthy Communities Program Grantee Highlighted NJ Department of Human ServicesOctober 27, 2023 New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today highlighted the implementation of Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) grant funding through a tour and hike at the Atsion Recreation Area, which is part of Wharton State Forest in the heart of the Pinelands National Reserve. Commissioner Adelman and DEP Assistant Commissioner of State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites John Cecil were accompanied by advocates for individuals with disabilities and organizations granted funding through IHC, including the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA). “It is wonderful to see public and private organizations partner to create equitable access to natural areas for New Jerseyans with disabilities as we witnessed at the Atsion Recreation Area,” Commissioner Adelman said. “Our goal is always to help our communities become more fully accessible to the wide array of individuals who we serve, and this is the latest example of those efforts. We thank the Department of Environmental