Adams visits Life’s WORC’s group home
Victoria Schneps, right, and Democratic mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, inside right, tour the Geraldo Rivera Home. Photo Gabriele Holtermann
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Brooklyn Borough President
Eric Adams, the frontrunning
candidate for mayor
of New York City, visited
Life’s WORC group home in
Little Neck to learn more
about the life changing services
the nonprofi t provides
for individuals with disabilities
and their families.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, Adams
joined Life’s WORC’s
Founder and Honorary
Board Member Victoria
Schneps, Life’s WORC CEO
Janet Koch, Board Chairperson
Lynne Koufakis and staff
to tour the organization’s
fi rst group home, located at
251-40 Gaskell Rd. in Little
Neck.
The group home is named
the “Geraldo Rivera Home”
in honor of the noted journalist
who played an important
role alongside Schneps and
other activists in exposing
abuses at the Willowbrook
State School on Staten Island.
Rivera’s reports of Willowbrook’s
infamous history
of mistreating and neglecting
thousands of disabled
residents brought about public
outrage, and eventually
led to the facility’s closure,
with its residents relocated
to smaller group homes.
In fact, the fi rst residents
at the Geraldo Rivera Home
were former Willowbrook
residents.
Life’s WORC is dedicated
to supporting people with intellectual
and developmental
disabilities as well as autism,
and has group homes
throughout New York City.
Adams recently received
criticism after he said that
closing Willowbrook was a
“mistake” during an interview
on “Morning Joe” on
MSNBC.
“A few employees harmed
those who were patients at
Willowbrook on Staten Island.
There was a reaction
from the advocates to close
down Willowbrook, deinstitutionalize
those who needed
around-the-clock services,
but we didn’t balance that
with real programs to give it
to them,” Adams said in that
interview.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 22 CT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 BTR
Adams later clarifi ed
through a spokesperson that
while he was “disturbed by
the mistreatment at Willowbrook
decades ago,” he meant
that “since then, New York
has systematically eliminated
mental health beds
that can be greatly benefi cial
to those who need constant
care, leaving our city unable
to provide for them,” according
to amNew York Metro.
Schneps, whose daughter
Lara had been a patient
at Willowbrook, invited the
Brooklyn borough president
to learn more about Willowbrook
and Life’s WORC.
During his visit Saturday,
Adams again referred to
his comments about Willowbrook,
saying that he felt that
after the institution closed,
the city and state “did not
give support to the families.”
“I just really felt as though
the city, the state just abandoned
those families with
children with special needs,
because behind every child
with special needs is a special
parent,” Adams said.
“The challenge of what it
takes — that love and nurturing
and you just want your
child to have the dignity and
respect that they deserve,
and that’s what every parent
wants. And I believe in it.”
During his visit at the Rivera
home, which included a
tour of the inside and outdoor
facilities, Adams met with
residents of the home and
spoke with staff about the
many services they offer beyond
their residential group
home, including behavioral
analysis services, community
habilitation, customized
employment services, day habilitation,
school-based services,
respite and family support
services, and trust and
fi nancial services, as well as
the programs and services
offered by its Family Center
for Autism.
The Life’s WORC team
spoke with Adams about the
challenges they face, particularly
relating to workforce
shortages.
Adams offered to set up
an advisory committee to
help address some of these
challenges at the city level, if
elected mayor.
“If we could put together
a group like this, a cross section
… and just say, ‘Eric,
here are the low hanging
fruits that we can do now,
here are some of the things
that we can do later,’ and just
start putting us on a pathway,”
Adams said. “We need
to be pouring our resources
into those who have barriers.”
Along with representatives
from Life’s WORC, the
event was attended by Inter-
Agency Council of Developmental
Disabilities Agencies
Inc. (IAC) Executive Director
Thomas McAlvanah; AHRC
New York City CEO Marco
R. Damiani; and Quality Services
for the Autism Community
(QSAC) NY Chairperson
Yvette Watts.
Disclosure: Victoria
Schneps is publisher of
Schneps Media, the parent
company of Bronx Times Reporter/
Bronx Times.