TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 1 - APRIL 7, 2022
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for children with special needs in Little
Neck, Queens — with half of the residents
coming from Willowbrook and others
from the Queens community. This facility
would soon become a model used across
the state for humane and adequate care for
this vulnerable population.
“Following the lawsuit, it paved the
way for new laws on the books to allow
for a new concept, embraced by the care
providers of this vulnerable community,
known as group homes,” Schneps said.
“We laid the groundwork to revolutionize
the industry, bringing dignified care to
these individuals, while leaving the largescale
wards in the past. What this did was,
it allowed group home settings to become
lifetime homes for individuals with special
needs, with peers and friends, activities,
and recreation. When we purchased
the first group home, there was resistance
in the community, and we won the case
in Queens Supreme Court that ruled that
group residences have rights to be in R1
and R2 residential neighborhoods.”
The state now funds group home settings,
where qualified and certified caregivers
with expertise, knowledge, education
and training all contribute to the
quality-of-life and independence-focused
care model.
“Our biggest challenge, on the industrywide
level, is continuing to fight for New
York State to properly staff and fund group
homes,” Schneps stated, about where advocacy
has been most impactful of late.
“Many people in our community involve
intense, personal care, which is costly, but
critical. Group residences provide a warm
home, where individuals can take pride in
the progress they are making on a daily basis,
and expand their personal horizons.”
While her involvement may have started
50 years ago, the advocacy continues for
Schneps, whose life has been dedicated to
bringing support for Life’s WORC. In recognition
of her efforts, Life’s WORC will
be honoring Schneps at their 50th Anniversary
Celebration Gala slated for April
1, alongside Geraldo Rivera. The sold-out,
star-studded gala is slated to take place at
the Garden City Hotel.
Funding has poured in from many of
New York’s most notable, including but not
limited to a $50,000 donation from honoree
Rivera and his current and former Fox
News Channel colleagues. Top-rated news
anchor Sean Hannity donated $50,000, as
did former host Bill O’Reilly. Various other
Long Islanders and New Yorkers have
opened their wallets, and their hearts, to
give to a cause that continues to thrive after
five decades of changing lives for the
better. Also contributing the maximum
donations are the Koufakis family, the
Rogan family, Subaru of America, and the
Manes Peace Prize Foundation.
“Life’s WORC has become my life’s
work, literally,” Schneps said, “preventing
atrocities like Willowbrook from ever happening
again. It takes vigilance, it takes a
commitment of a whole community, and
it takes the generosity of those who are
willing to support our cause. The support
that Life’s WORC has gotten for our 50th
Anniversary Gala is more than just overwhelming
and humbling, but a statement
that we remember Willowbrook, and we
care to make sure that this never happens
again.”
“This 50th Anniversary Gala is really
a celebration of people living with dignity
in this vulnerable community, in comparison
with what happened in the past,”
she continued. “It’s a celebration of a new
chapter that began with the bravery and
courage of a few, and the dedication of
many more to make sure that what happened
in the past is never forgotten.”
Schneps said that Life’s WORC now operates
50 group residences, day programs,
and family centers for those with autism,
and will soon open a job-training employment
center.
“The Family Center for Autism in
Garden City is offering art classes, music
classes, cooking classes — all things
that develop life skills for individuals,”
Schneps added. “At our family centers, we
are helping not just those with autism and
special needs, but also their families, with
counseling and other resources.”
Schneps is now a community newspaper
publisher, owning and operating 88
newspapers in the New York metropolitan
area, with her son, Josh Schneps. That began
in 1985 with her flagship publication
The Queens Courier, but now includes
such papers as amNew York Metro, the
Long Island Press, and Dan’s Papers, serving
New York City, Long Island, Westchester
and Rockland Counties, Philadelphia,
and Palm Beach County, Fla.
Vicki said her inspiration to join the
news media was the reporting done by
Geraldo nearly five decades ago, which
gave a voice to the voiceless, and taught
her the power of the press in affecting
change.
“I found purpose in publishing,”
Schneps said. “Our publications are the
beacons of reporting by which New Yorkers
and people around the world gather information
and make informed decisions,
find opinions, and become inspired to act.”
“While I see this as my job, my love
and devotion is, and will always be, helping
people with developmental disabilities
and autism overcome challenges and live
fulfilling lives,” she concluded. “That is
my mission, and I am proud of all those
who work with me towards this goal.”
(From l. to r.): Elizabeth, Lara and Victoria Schneps.
VICTORIA SCHNEPS GERALDO RIVERA
/QNS.COM
