Community Hesed Spotlight: CARE

Everyday, couples are dealing with the struggles that come along with raising their special needs child or children. Just five years ago, our community members had no place to turn when they needed assistance in this specific area.

Meyer and Victoria Safdieh have special needs children and, in conjunction with their good friend Michael Wahba, decided to take matters into their own hands. They started an organization whose core mission is to aid not only the special needs children in our community, but their whole family as well. Remembering the feeling of having no one to turn to when they first had a special needs child is what motivates the Safdieh’s to help others in the community every day. With positive attitudes and full hearts, the individuals at CARE which stands for community, advocacy, resources,  and encouragement have helped about 170 families and counting.

CARE's mission statement located on their website.

Vital questions come to mind when a parent faces the challenge of having a special needs child and CARE is devoted to helping ease that overwhelming feeling that can come about when facing them. Do I have the right doctor? Does my child have the proper care? Which insurance is best? What school do I choose for them? Are my other non special needs children getting the proper attention? The CARE organization answers all these questions and more.

CARE holds parents’ hands, so to speak, and walk them through confusing things such as insurance policies and how to get the most out of government benefits once they get the proper insurance. They also make sure that parents have a strong bond and can face adversities together by way of giving them breaks like date night or gifting them spa days on Hanukkah. Each member of the family is taken into consideration by CARE.

Two young children enjoying a Rangers game, courtesy of CARE.

The founders of CARE feel as though it is simple for them to consider every aspect of the ramifications of this scenario because they themselves have been through it. Rather than sending only the special needs child a gift on hanukkah and potentially creating resentment, they send all children in a family a gift. This enables the siblings to feel as though they received a gift because of their sibling and it feels more like a bonus.

“When our first daughter was born the medical diagnosis took us for a ride. It’s like you're driving along and all of a sudden there's a tunnel, and you go in and the lights go out and you don’t know what direction you’re going and there's no one there to guide you,” said Moshe Erani of his experience before CARE, “They sent me and my wife out to dinner in New York City and it was like we were dating again and it opened our eyes to see that we needed it, and we need to start doing this on our own.”

Young boys enjoying a fun basketball game with CARE's basketball league for special children and siblings.

“There are no words to describe the dedication of this organization, in a very quiet way they save many families from collapsing,” explained Rabbi David Oziery of the importance of the work CARE is doing.

CARE offers hands on care and support with their various programs and resources. This includes a parent support network, monthly sibling workshops, basketball league for special children and siblings, weekly programs for girls and much more. The monthly sibling workshops and other programs are so vital because they let the children know that they aren’t the only kids in the world with special needs siblings and it gives them a community as well as a release.

Two young boys enjoying a basketball game courtesy of CARE.

CARE takes on cases with children who have autism, children who are prone to seizures, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, severe mental delay, and undiagnosed disorders. This non-profit organization takes the time and effort it takes to educate the families of our community about Medicaid waiver OPWDD services, SSI, handicap permits, proper school placement, and navigating the board of education and other government services. 

If you would like to get involved to be a volunteer or benefit from CARE services call (718)975-7171. To learn more visit their website https://www.careforspecial.org.

 

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Frieda@sephardic.org

Frieda Schweky is Sephardic.Org's official community events reporter. For inquiries and to get involved with our site, please contact Frieda via email.