'Sublime', Anne Frank Garden Memorial by Thea Lanzisero
Huntington Town Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci and Suffolk County Legislator Susan A. Berland will co-host the Town of Huntington’s 10th Annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony on Sunday, July 11 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Anne Frank Memorial Garden at Arboretum Park, 48 Threepence Drive, Melville.
‘Sublime’, Anne Frank Garden Memorial by Thea Lanzisero
The Anne Frank Memorial Garden symbolically captures the journey of Anne Frank’s life. It features a circular pathway that surrounds a garden, which leads to the sculpture of a young girl’s dress. by sculpturist Thea Lanzisero. The Memorial Garden serves as tribute to Anne’s legacy of wisdom and genuine belief in the goodness of mankind and human nature, despite the ugliness of war and discrimination.
Program participants include Rabbi Howard Buechler of the Dix Hills Jewish Center, Rabbi Orrin Krublit of the South Huntington Jewish Center, Commander Harry Arlin and members of Jewish War Veterans Post #488, and guest speaker Rachel Epstein, a Holocaust survivor. Attendees of the Anne Frank Memorial Garden anniversary celebration will be invited to take a walk through the garden following the program and offered light refreshments, courtesy of Hummel Hummel Bakery in East Northport and King Kullen.
Rendering of the renovated Greenlawn Park playground.
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci announced the start to construction of improvements to the playground at the Town’s regional Greenlawn Park starting Thursday, June 10 with expected completion by Labor Day.
“We are excited to see these playground improvements realized at Greenlawn Park, one of our most popular regional parks, which will provide a complement to its popular skate park and athletic fields,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, whose administration worked closely with the Greenlawn Civic Association to develop plans for the new playground.
Rendering of the renovated Greenlawn Park playground.
Greenlawn Park (Tri-Village) Playground, at the corner of Pulaski Road and Broadway-Greenlawn Road in Greenlawn, will be closed starting June 10, 2021 to undergo substantial improvements, including:
new playground equipment;
a new concrete walkway;
a new picnic area with a gazebo;
new landscape plantings;
new fences – perimeter and interior; and
solar cell phone/table charging stations.
The total cost is expected to be approximately $468,000 and the project is anticipated to be completed by Labor Day.
Representatives of the Greenlawn Civic Association requested the playground improvements, working with Town staff in the Departments of Engineering, Parks and Recreation, and Planning and Environment as well as the Town’s EOSPA Committee to develop a playground plan that reflects the community’s needs.
The Town Board designated up to $525,000 in EOSPA-recommended Environmental Open Space and Park Improvement Funding for the project in January 2020. The project was bid in January 2021, the Town received 12 bids, and the Town Board awarded the construction contract to the lowest responsible bidder, Greenlawn-based Turf Tek USA in February 2021.
People might soon be able to grab their prescriptions, a bag of potato chips and pick up soap as they head into a new therapy service at their local CVS.
The nation’s pharmacy retail giant has started a new service at several of their stores across the U.S. — offering both walk-in and scheduled sessions for mental health treatment. These appointments are available beyond typical daytime hours, including nights and weekends.
According to a spokesperson with CVS Health, the company began adding licensed clinical social workers trained in cognitive behavioral therapy to 13 locations in the Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa metro areas in January of this year.
These providers will offer mental health assessments, referrals and personalized counseling either in person or via telehealth through MinuteClinics inside CVS HealthHUB store locations.
The spokesperson said the company is planning on expanding to 34 locations this spring.
“We anticipate expanding mental health services into additional markets in the coming months,” the representative said in an email. “We expect to have more detailed information soon.”
Rite Aid and Walmart have started similar programs, too.
Dr. Adam Gonzalez. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine
And although MinuteClinics and the like are not available in New York state yet, Dr. Adam Gonzalez, director of behavioral health and founding director of the Mind-Body Clinical Research Center at the Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, said this could potentially be a good day if such facilities were to come close to home.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many challenges and disruptions to our way of life,” he said. “We have seen an increase in depression, anxiety, increased stress overall and grief responses. Recent mental health data from the CDC also highlights an increase in mental health problems, especially among young adults, and importantly, unmet mental health needs.”
According to Gonzalez, a recent CDC report indicates that during August 2020 through this February “the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, and the percentage of those reporting an unmet mental health care need increased from 9.2% to 11.7%. Increases were largest among adults aged 18–29 years and those with less than a high school education.”
“There is a great need for mental health awareness and treatment at this time,” Gonzalez added. “A silver lining of the pandemic has been the expansion and use of telehealth as a platform for treatment, allowing patients to participate in mental health treatment from the comfort of their home. However, a limiting factor for accessing care is the availability of providers.”
He said throughout the pandemic, SBU’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health saw a great increase in the need for mental health care — so large, it developed a call center.
“Throughout the pandemic we have consistently been receiving over 7,000 calls per month,” the director said. “Evaluating our outpatient data for the three months before the pandemic and the current last three months, there has been a 50% increase in number of visits scheduled for outpatient mental health services. Of note, the number of visits scheduled is limited by the number of providers available to provide services.”
With the need for mental health providers continuing to grow, Gonzalez said additional services — like the ones at the CVS pharmacy chain — could be helpful.
“I think having services available at CVS could help with normalizing mental health treatment and increasing access to care,” he said. “The more mental health service options available to the community, the better. One consideration is the type and quality of care to be delivered. Although it is important to increase access, we also want to make sure that the quality of care being delivered is high.”
But if and when the retailers open up shop on Long Island, Stony Brook Medicine is working on finding ways to reduce feelings of hopelessness and distress.
“We are actively working on investigating various methods of delivering care to help with increasing access to treatment and addressing the mental health needs of the community,” Gonzalez said.
These methods include expanding group-based services, utilizing a collaborative care model that involves working closely with primary care physicians and behavioral health care managers for medication management, and utilizing skills-based single-session interventions.
“We have been working with Dr. Jessica Schleider in the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University to implement and study a problem-solving single-session intervention,” he added. “Initial data indicates that these sessions help with improving agency — motivation for change — and reduce feelings of hopelessness and distress.”
Presiding Officer Rob Calarco shakes hands with Leg. Nick Caracappa during Friday’s press conference.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
A bipartisan group of representatives from local, state and federal elected offices, civics and the community gathered to call on the governor to repair New York state roads with federal funding.
Spearheaded by Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (R-Selden), he demanded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) gives his immediate attention to the unsafe state roads, specifically in Suffolk County.
Caracappa said roads like I-495 (the Long Island Expressway), Route 27 (Sunrise Highway) and Route 25 (Middle Country Road) have potholes the size of craters, that cannot just damage a vehicle, but could potentially take a life.
“The current state of these roadways presents very hazardous, dangerous driving conditions to the millions of commuters who depend upon these roadways on a daily basis,” Caracappa said at the May 21 press conference outside the state building in Hauppauge. “Whether it be for work or leisure, commuters place themselves in harm’s way when entering these roadways throughout Suffolk County and beyond.”
The legislator noted that the county’s roads occupy over one million commuters on a daily basis. When a driver blows out a tire on the side of a busy highway, he could be putting his life at risk, stepping out of the car to examine the damage.
“The residents of Suffolk County in New York pay some of the highest taxes in this country,” he added. “There are better, safer and more secure roadways than those we are currently forced to utilize on a daily basis … the lives of the hardworking commuters and their family members should not be put in peril each and every time.”
The meeting came after the legislator issued a letter signed by all 17 Suffolk County Legislators to Cuomo and NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.
Ten town leaders also signed the letter to show their support. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) spoke on their behalf.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. Photo by Julianne Mosher
“Someone once said, all issues of government are issues of money. Look how the state spends its money,” Romaine began. “We have roads in atrocious conditions — I rode on the expressway to get here, and it seemed like there was more blacktop to the potholes than there was concrete for the pavement.”
Romaine said this needs to change.
“We need to make sure that the guys that ride bikes, the guys who drive cars, the gals that drive cars, that they’re safe, these roads are not safe,” he said. “The money is there — let’s spend it where it should be spent. Let’s spend it on our infrastructure. Let’s create jobs. Anyone that studies economics, understands that investment in infrastructure, produces great results for the economy, and also for our citizens that have to travel.”
Caracappa mentioned that repairs for these roadways are scheduled for completion by 2023-2024, which he said is an unacceptable time frame. At a time when the state has received unprecedented levels of federal aid, he felt the time for immediate and decisive action must be now.
“New York State should be held accountable and responsible for every flat tire, automobile accident, injury or death caused by the current road conditions of these roadways, with restitution given to those who have been major under the conditions that can be likened only to a war-torn country,” Caracappa said. “We have an obligation to ensure the safety of our communities, and should make every effort to begin to do so without any further delay.”
Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said the state roadway infrastructure has been completely mismanaged.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
“They are spending millions of dollars unnecessarily when they should be paving our roads,” he said. “People are going to get hurt and cost this county and the state millions of dollars in lawsuits, and all for what? Because of mismanagement. It doesn’t take Perry Mason to figure out the road needs to be paved.”
And it isn’t just for residents. Caracappa and several of the other officials mentioned that East End tourism is a multi-billion-dollar industry. But it won’t be if tourists can’t safety get out there.
“We spend millions of dollars for tourism on the East End,” said Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset). “I don’t know if they are able to get there without blowing a tire.”
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) added that Long Island is finally “mask free” and tourism will be back.
“Let’s talk about commerce and equity of a $5 billion East End tourism industry,” he said. “People from all over the tri-state area make choices … Are they going to come down roads that are like downtown Baghdad? Or are they going to go to Jersey or up the Hudson River?”
Just an hour before the 11 a.m. press conference, Cuomo sent out a statement announcing a $30.6 million investment in pavement restoration projects for Long Island roads — for five state highways in Nassau and Suffolk Counties totaling 20 miles.
State Senator Mario Mattera (R) said that regardless, the roads are still a disaster.
“It’s amazing that the governor heard probably about this press conference,” he said. “And now money is being released. But again, strike with numbers in solidarity. And you know what, everybody needs to be a voice. This is our safety. These are our roads.”
Leg. Kara Hahn during a press conference at the Arthur Kunz County Park in Smithtown on May 11.
Photo by Kimberly Brown
By Kimberly Brown
Suffolk County deputy presiding officer, Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), officially launched Tuesday the Park Stewardship Program, where community volunteers are selected to oversee local parks that do not have staff.
County nature trails are in need of assistance as illegal dumping and vandalism are often discovered on the paths where local residents take their daily walks.
“The responsibilities of the stewards would be to pick up trash and to notify the parks department if there is vandalism or dumping,” Hahn said. “We’ve had very high profile dumping issues, so it’s good to have eyes and ears on the ground.”
The stewards are also encouraged to help with signage to assist local residents with navigating through the trails.
Hahn said it is important to create more signage to help residents such as mothers with children to ensure they know how far the trail is to reach a particular scenic spot.
Photo by Kimberly Brown
County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) expressed his gratitude for Hahn’s program, as his involvement in preserving Long Island parks dates back to 2006 when he won support for the transfer of the 365-acre former Kings Park State Hospital property to New York State parks department.
“This is very near and dear to my heart, I walk through here regularly,” he said. “This is the kind of thing that starts off small but may develop into a group where we can raise money so we can make improvements to the park.”
The falling of trees throughout Long Island trails since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 has been continuing many years later. The president of Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, David Reisfield, has taken it upon the Greenbelt organization to remove hazardous trees on trails that caused concern for residents. “This, to me, is the best thing,” he said. “We go out every Tuesday and cover three to four miles of trail, but the more volunteers the better. I could not be happier.”
According to Hahn, stewards are not expected to cut down trees but are welcomed to use clippers for branches that may cause blockages on the trails.
“It’s important that people get to go out and experience this, and sometimes a candy wrapper or a water bottle can mar that experience,” she said. “So, having stewards that are there to help pick those up is a good thing.”
If community members are interested in becoming a part of the Park Stewardship Program they can visit the county’s parks website at suffolkcountyny.gov/departments/parks and sign up online.
Highway Superintendent Kevin Orelli is shown standing in front of the new gabion revetment wall on West Shore Road.
The Huntington Highway Department, under the direction of Highway Superintendent Kevin Orelli, recently completed its second shoreline stabilization project, which included the restoration of approximately 600 feet of shoreline roadway.
Highway Superintendent Kevin Orelli is shown atop the new gabion wall on Shore Road.
The first stabilization project took place on Shore Road in Cold Spring Harbor from September, 2020 thru November, 2020 that involved the installation of a 450 foot gabion reinforced retaining wall in addition to a new guide rail.
The second shoreline stabilization project was performed on West Shore Road in Huntington that began on the week of April 12th and took approximately two and a half weeks to complete. The Highway Department replaced and installed a130 foot section of gabion reinforced revetment in addition to a new guide rail and steel chain link fencing.
“Both gabion revetment projects were under New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) shoreline stabilization permits and will help to eliminate long-term erosion and deposition of silt and debris into the tidal areas,” stated Highway Superintendent Kevin Orelli.
Girl Scouts help plant the American Elm tree donated by Covanta with Town and Covanta officials looking on.
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, Councilman Ed Smyth and Councilwoman Joan Cergol were joined by Covanta and Girl Scout Service Unit 12, Troop 239 for an Arbor Day tree planting ceremony and to unveil trees planted with Tree City USA grant funding at Columbia Street Park in Huntington Station Friday, April 30.
“Thank you to Covanta Huntington for your environmentally-conscious donation and to our Girl Scouts from Troop 239 for your commitment to Columbia Street Park and many of our green spaces,” stated Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. “The Town of Huntington is fortunate to have maintained our Tree City USA designation for over 20 years and thanks to your contributions, grant funding from the New York State Urban Forestry Council, and our Volunteer Parks Stewards like Alvin White, we will continue to plant trees, beautify and preserve our open spaces.”
“It’s great to be in Columbia Park, one of the “hidden gems” of the Town’s parks,” said Councilman Ed Smyth. “Our bigger parks get most of the attention, but it is worthwhile for our residents to explore the smaller parks that are often within walking distance of their homes.”
“I want to thank Covanta for donating such a beautiful American Elm tree and Girl Scout Service Unit 12, Troop 239 for planting additional saplings at Columbia Park,” Councilwoman Cergol said. “Planting trees is one of the best things we can do for the Town’s natural beauty and for the environment, and I’m proud to serve a Town that has been designated a Tree City USA community for 20 years and running.”
Maureen Early, Senior Community Affairs Specialist for Covanta, stated, “Covanta was delighted to partner with Supervisor Lupinacci and the Town of Huntington to plant trees in honor of Arbor Day. It’s efforts like this that remind us how important it is to protect our environment and work toward a more sustainable tomorrow. We thank our municipal leaders for being environmental stewards with us.”
Girl Scouts from Troop 239 in Service Unit 12 from South Huntington joined the ceremony to help plant the American Elm tree donated by Covanta to the Town of Huntington to commemorate Arbor Day; the Town Board accepted the donation at their April 13 meeting.
Participating in the Arbor Day ceremony were Girl Scout Cadettes Zahara Amorde, Julia Dean, Kate Sperduti, Lily Fleischer, Abbrianna Mandarino, Kate Adams, Morgan Franz, Ava Tulipano, and Allie Lynde, as well as Girl Scout Juniors Sophia Amorde, Nadia McKelvey, and Ava Rodriguez. The Scouts also helped plant additional bare root saplings at the park. Troop Co-Leaders Gina Barone and Christine Reilly attended the event.
Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader Gina Barone stated, “It was a privilege and pleasure for Troop 239 to participate in the Town of Huntington Arbor day tree planting event. Girl Scouts have been passionate proponents of conservation throughout our organization’s 100-plus year history and our troop strives to embody the value of environmental stewardship in our Huntington community. We are committed to continuing to live the Girl Scout law of “using resources wisely” and protecting the Earth both globally and locally. Thank you for supporting our mission and for allowing us to be a part of such an inspiring program!”
Volunteer Park Steward Alvin White, who serves as the parks steward for Columbia Street Park, also attended the Arbor Day event.
The event also celebrated grant funding that allowed additional trees to be planted at the park in late 2020. The Town of Huntington has maintained its designation as a Tree City USA for over two decades. In September 2020, the Town applied for and received $1,000 in Tree City USA grant funding from the New York State Urban Forestry Council to plant five (5) trees at Columbia Street Park in Huntington Station, a site recommended in a Planting Location Evaluation from a tree inventory previously conducted with a Tree Inventory Grant funded by the NYSDEC Urban and Community Forestry Program.
A total of twelve (12) trees were planted under the project; seven (7) trees were funded by an EOSPA-recommended match of $1,900. Most of the trees were planted as street trees to provide shade and a welcoming park aesthetic in 2020, when an event could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All Huntington and Oyster Bay residents are encouraged to become Oyster Gardeners this summer at one of five gardens in their community. Attend the Saturday, May 8th presentation at the Huntington Public Library (via Zoom) to learn more and sign up to raise oysters this season in Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor.
The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee invites residents to play an active role in protecting their local waters by becoming Oyster Gardeners this season. Oysters serve as “ecosystem engineers” improving water quality, enhancing habitat and protecting shorelines from damaging storms. Since 2017 hundreds of families, individuals, boy and girl scouts, church groups, yacht, bathing and garden clubs have raised and planted tens of thousands of oysters on a protected spawner sanctuary in Cold Spring Harbor.
The Oyster Gardening program is an outreach tool of the inter-municipal Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee to educate and engage residents in conserving their natural resources.
To learn more:
Attend:Oyster Gardening 101 Presentation – Huntington Public Library Huntington Public Library (via zoom). Everyone (not just Huntington library patrons) are welcome to attend. Oyster Gardening supporters and Huntington Town Councilmembers Cergol and Smyth will welcome attendees. The zoom session will be followed by an in-person visit to the site of the garden at West Neck Beach to learn first-hand. Registration begins May 3rd. For details see: Library Newsletter ( page 4): https://myhpl.org/images/newsletters/2021/may-june.pdf
A new law will now keep bicyclists safe on the roadways with its 3-foot rule.
On Tuesday, April 27, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) joined Deputy Presiding Officer Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and members of the biking community at Stony Brook’s Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn to sign it in officially.
Bellone said the legislation will help ensure the safety of bicyclists while out on the roadways requiring drivers to pass on the left and provide the riders with at least 3 feet of space. Violations of this law are punishable by a fine of $225 for the first offense, $325 for the second offense and $425 for any subsequent offenses.
It is the first of its kind in New York state.
“For us in Suffolk County, where we love the outdoors, many of the reasons why people choose to live here is because of our incredible natural resources: our parks, our open space and the beauty that we have here,” he said. “Bicycles are such a big part of that. We are committed to, and we have to be committed to, making sure that cycling can be done safely, and people are protected as much as possible.”
He added that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, bike sales have “skyrocketed.” People want to be outside more.
“We’ve obviously been working on these issues for some time,” he said. “But the pandemic has only made it even clearer how important this is to people’s lives — and quite frankly, to all of us, even if you never get on a bike.”
Hahn added that Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn attracts bicyclists from around the world who come and enjoy the area’s paths, roads and trails.
“Our roads are going to be safer now,” she said. “But there is tremendous synergy between our environment and our economy, between what we have here to enjoy where we live. And who we attract to come here as visitors, who we attract to come here as businesses, and people — especially after the pandemic — are looking for places to live, places to visit where they can recreation safely.”
Bellone noted, though, that Long Island roads can often be dangerous, and he is committed to keeping the streets safe.
“We know that bicycling on certain roads in the county can be dangerous, but we’ve been working on that issue,” he said. “We’ve taken a number of significant steps to educate drivers and improve infrastructure to create a safer environment for bicycles on the road. So, today, our efforts go one step further.”
Attorney and board member of the New York Bicycling Coalition Daniel Flanzig said that currently only 33 states have this law.
“[NY] Vehicle & Traffic Law 1122-A currently exists, but only requires a motorist to pass a cyclist at a safe distance,” he said. “What a safe distance is to me is different to you.”
Flanzig said that the new law of a 3-foot distance is a tangible, recognizable number.
“I think 3-foot distance actually makes it easier to enforce,” Hahn said. “Now there’s a set difference. Previously, the law said drivers must pass cyclists at a safe distance and that wasn’t defined.”
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Michael Kessler embrace at a press conference on April 19. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan
By Iryna Shkurhan
Advocates, lawmakers, developers and tenants gathered at ELIJA Farm in South Huntington on Monday morning to announce new inclusive housing opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) reported that an additional $10 million in funding will go to the development of 10 new housing units in Riverhead through the county’s inclusive housing pilot program.
“We’ve now funded more inclusive housing units in Suffolk County than we have seen in the state,” Bellone said.
He first announced a pilot program in 2019 to fund projects designed to meet the regional need to develop new housing opportunities. After a successful trial run that saw a necessary demand, the program will now be permanent. A sum of $2.5 million dollars will be allocated every year for the next four years to fund inclusive housing projects for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The announcement came during Autism Acceptance Month, which Debora Thivierge, executive director and founder of The ELIJA Foundation, called “Autism Action Month.” It also falls under Fair Housing Month, celebrated every April.
Thivierge founded ELIJA Farm as a nonprofit project in 2016. The farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program offers methodical opportunities for diverse populations and integrates members into the life and community of the farm.
“For us its original purpose was to empower Long Island’s journey through autism and today couldn’t be a more significant day to kind of mark that mission,” Thivierge said at a press conference in Huntington last week.
According to the New York Housing Resource Center, there are more than 25,000 adults in Suffolk County with intellectual or developmental disabilities and 63% of them live with family caregivers. Of those caregivers, 25% are over the age of 60.
Ten units in Riverhead were completed earlier this year and are now fully occupied by individuals eligible to receive services through the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Gateway Plaza, developed by G2D Group, was bought as a 64-unit apartment building in Huntington Station. Part of those units will be devoted to people on the autism spectrum.
It is the only apartment building in Huntington with a doorman and its ground floor has about 14,000 feet of commercial space.
“We’re doing everything we can so that all the individuals in our community and across our country have the opportunity to live their best lives, to reach their full potential and that they have equal opportunity to do so,” Bellone said.
Developers believe that the quality of life will be much better for these individuals if they live in an accessible and walkable area of town. With opportunities even on the first floor, residents will be exposed to integration efforts as opposed to living in a remote place and being isolated from their community.
Jason Harris, 22-year-old son of Thivierge and self-advocate moved to one of the Huntington units in February.
“It’s been the greatest experience I’ve had so far, and it feels like I have my independence,” he said. “But I’m not feeling alone.”
The ground floor will have a cafe and office space where residents will have an opportunity to work and be integrated in the community as well as the commercial side of Gateway Plaza.
“This is a game changer for people with autism, and intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Patricia Calandra, master housing navigator at the New York Housing Resource Center. “We are so grateful to be able to start this bigger, better model of acceptance and inclusion for our loved ones in the local community.”
Calandra is the mother of Joey and Jenna, who are both on the autism spectrum, and have lived independently in a community apartment complex in Coram for the last four years.
She mentioned all the ways her adult children have gained independence and a sense of community from living alone, despite their disabilities. They’ve built relationships with neighbors, taken on work opportunities in the community, and gained the confidence to get out of their comfort zone and venture out on their own, she said.
“Autism Awareness Month is now Autism Acceptance Month,” Thivierge added. “And ELIJA really feels that it’s ‘Autism Action Month’ because we have to start doing things that are really going to make change.”
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