MANHATTAN — Several families joined workers, elected officials and supporters to urge Community Resources and Services for Children (CRSC) to reopen its much-needed Day Habilitation center.
“Families are devastated because they have not received a valid excuse for the center closing down,” said Johanny Taveras, who served as an administrative assistant at the center for more than 10 years. “Now, they’re not getting services they really need.”
CRSC, which serves a predominantly Latino population with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Queens and Manhattan, has total revenues of more than $5 million annually. The bulk of its funding comes from the stateOffice for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
The recently closed northern Manhattan center served nearly 40 individuals from the local community with developmental disabilities, offering them activities and socialization, and helping with daily living skills designed to increase self-sufficiency. It also ran a parent support group.
CRSC management closed the facility in early April, citing building problems that have since been corrected. Parents and workers said they were improperly notified of the closure, if at all, and have since had the burden of scrambling to care for their children and wondering where they will get the services they need.
Union busting
Workers have had their hours drastically reduced and some of their positions placed in limbo. They have also accused CRSC of keeping the center shut because the organization doesn’t want the workers to have a union.
CSRC workers, frustrated by low wages, lack of training, favoritism and non-existent policies, recently voted to form a union at their workplace to address these and other grievances that will allow them to better serve their individuals.
“As workers, we are outraged,” Taveras said. “We want respect for ourselves and our participants. Forming a union will help us demand equitable treatment and respect for workers and participants.”
“The right of employees to organize is at the core of the protections that we, as a society, hold dear for workers,” said State Sen. Jose Peralta. “The National Labor Relations Act, and requisite oversight by the National Labor Relations Board, exist to ensure that union elections are held in a fair and just manner. It is my hope that this situation is resolved quickly and by the letter of the law.”
Closure guts key services
Ivana Tejada, a direct care worker, said that most of the individuals served by the center have been forced to stay at home since the closure, which she said robs them of important socialization.
“When they stay in the home all the time, it isn’t good,” said Tejada. “They need that interaction with other participants.”
“I don’t know why they closed my son’s center,” said Ana Rochet, a parent. “He needs and deserves access to these services and to the workers who are familiar with him and provide him with the kind of assistance he needs. I don’t know where to go.”
“Organizations that provide services to developmentally disabled individuals are much needed resources for Northern Manhattan,” said state Assemblyman Guillermo Linares. “Closing down this Day Habilitation Center is concerning. Families cannot afford losing this vital program that has been serving this community.”
CSEA Metropolitan Region President Lester Crockett said CSEA will stand solidly with these families and workers. “This is our community and we pay for these critical services. This is a matter of justice and respect for our families and the people who care for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
But one individual served by the center may have put it best. Participant Ydelfonso Ortiz joined Crockett in demanding, “Bring the center back. I need it now!”
— David Galarza
