Ramsey March 9, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Ramsey Mayor Christopher Botta has announced the first of five appointments to a citizens’ advisory board to oversee plans for the construction of special needs housing for young adults with autism. Mayor Botta, along with Ramsey residents Paul Huot and Mary Connolly, were the first to be named to the board of trustees of Ramsey Housing, Inc., the non-profit corporation being formed to oversee the project. The special needs housing will be built on a 1.4-acre tract on Airmount Avenue that is currently owned by the borough. The purchase price of the property and development contribution will be funded by the borough’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, with no expenditure of borough general funds. Non-profit developer Bergen County United Way/Madeline Corporation will construct a 6,000 square foot “green home” on the property for eight young adults with autism who will receive on-site services. New Horizons in Autism will provide 24hour staffing and services at the home. “It is the right thing to do,” Mayor Botta Borough announces plans to build special needs housing said of the project. “The residents of this new home will live with dignity, close to family and friends, and in a supportive community that will give them an extraordinary quality of life. Our communities must start to address the housing needs of special needs families, and I am pleased that Ramsey will be taking this step forward to do just that.” The incidence of autism in New Jersey is among the highest in the nation. Approximately one in every 95 children are born with the disorder. Identification of autism spectrum disorders and the coining of the term “autism” began in the mid-1980s. Parent groups formed to advocate for treatment, and private schools were launched to supplement public school curriculum and to adjust service provided in existing notfor-profit and private school facilities. Housing is now emerging as an acute need for this first generation of young adults who are aging out of public and private education programs. There are currently 7,800 names on the waiting list for special needs housing maintained by the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities. Many of those families now have to relocate their children out of state, away from relatives and loved ones, just to receive adequate care and treatment. “We have made the development of special needs housing our top priority,” said Tom Toronto, president of Bergen County’s United Way. Our ‘Very Special Homes’ are models for working hand in glove with municipalities to satisfy their legal obligation for affordable housing and moral obligation to provide supportive, non-institutional homes for disabled adults. Our housing looks great, is well built, and is remarkably affordable.” Bergen County’s United Way recently completed homes in Allendale for 10 individuals with developmental disabilities ranging from Down syndrome to autism. The Allendale project, called Orchard Commons, received the Governor’s Excellence in Housing Award for Supportive Housing. “Our experiences clearly demonstrate that with carefully tailored and individualized supports and services all people can grow and develop in housing they control, be it a house, an apartment, or a condominium, no matter how significant their disabilities,” said Shari DePalma, executive director of the Madeline Corporation. Meg Acer, Peter Hunter, Judy McDonnell, Morgan Kleinberg, and Hoover Chin of the First Presbyterian Church’s Handbell Choir performed in Fellowship Hall and then conducted a hands-on program for those interested in learning more about playing handbells. Contact Meg Acer at (201) 995-0396 for more information. Making music