JSDD News

    Representative Mikie Sherrill paid a special visit to JSDD on February 22, 2023, to meet with  JSDD residents, WAE Center members, families, and staff. The Congresswoman was pivotal in helping JSDD to secure Community Project funding which will launch JSDD: Life | Home | Tech.       Upon arriving, Representative Sherrill and her team, in addition to Livingston Mayor Michael Vieira, Deputy Mayor Al Anthony, Town Council Member Ed Meinhardt and Essex County Commissioner Patricia Sebold gathered in the Heidi Gallery.  There to greet them was JSDD Executive Director, Linda Press and Board President Larry Rein. Everyone took in the current exhibit: Mentor/Mentee – JDAIM 2023, in honor of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion month. Several artists were […]

  “The relationship between mentor and mentee is a symbiotic one.” Yvette Lucas, Manager Prevocational Arts   This wonderful exhibit is a dynamic statement about the day-to-day inner workings of the WAE Center art studios. Ranging from: one-on-one sessions between facilitator and artist, to group workshops, to small group digital collaborations the gamut in materials and structure is wide and deep and full of exploration. Ten mentors and tens of members contributed to this wonderful mélange of texture, subject and materials including: charcoal, collage, digital artwork, fiber art, music composition/album design, soft sculpture, 3-D printing, printmaking, painting, photography, AI – creations, quilting & sewing, pastel and marker drawings, watercolor, weaving and woodworking. Mentors have brought their individual work to the […]

JSDD is starting off the New Year with a new segment on the website. Each month will feature a look inside what is happening with the residents living in JSDD homes. Shabbat is celebrated weekly led by Hagit, JSDD’s Judaic Coordinator. Each home takes time to set the table beautifully and to make a special dinner. Residents enjoy participating in the preparation of the dinner and all love to see friends from other homes over the computer. Each Shabbat celebration begins with the appropriate prayers over the candles, the challah and to welcome the Sabbath. Each Shabbat Hagit discusses the weekly torah portion and brings up lessons that can be learned. The group enjoys discussions about how they can apply […]

This month is intended to remind us that ALL Jews, without regard to disability, must have access to Jewish life – to work live, love, play, learn and worship how and where they choose, and to contribute to this wonderful place we call our Greater MetroWest Jewish community.   JSDD and the WAE Center is engaged in bringing artwork, artists, and residents into a few congregations to spread the word about abilities and inclusion in Jewish life. While the notion of inclusion may sound abstract, it is in fact, a daily practice rooted in the practical.  We need only remember to look and notice the needs of those around us, which are different than ours, and act to provide equal access […]

In celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest (JFGMW) NJ, a community-wide trip to Israel is planned for July 2023. JSDD and our partner agency JESPY House will be sharing a bus as we embark on this community journey with the generous support of the Centennial Fund. We are thrilled that five men and women who reside in JSDD homes will travel to Israel with three staff members.  For most, it will be their first trip to Israel and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.  For those who travelled to Israel many years ago, it will be a visit of a lifetime with excursions tailored to their interests, while accommodations are made to address the needs […]