Ohel: Cedarhurst home to be rebuilt

The Cedarhurst house with the beige siding, white portico and red front door had become a home, set up for the special needs of its residents and became a fixture of the neighborhood but Hurricane Sandy swept it away.

The Ohel Bais Ezra home for young men on Arlington Road was, for the most part, destroyed by the October storm. Its five resident young men with developmental disabilities, aged 18 to 21, were evacuated the Sunday before the storm and have been temporarily relocated to an assistant living center in Boro Park. The Regency graciously took the five young people in, providing them with their own floor, but the feeling of displacement continues.

“It was a great home,” said Laurie Adler, a parent of one of the young men. “It was not just a house or a place to live, but an established home for these boys. They are teenage boys, old enough to leave home.” She noted that they are local boys and an integral part of the Five Towns community. They contribute, she added, and they “have what to give and have delightful personalities. The home made them part of the community where their families can see them.” She explained that homes for the developmentally disabled are “usually not frum and are far away” from the families, and the families thus can’t see them often and that dislocation is “harsh.”

With the Ohel Bais Ezra home here, said Adler, “They can be part of the same community as the parents, make lives for themselves, and have a quality of life. They all have Jewish identities.” The home is “carving a space for this demographic within the Jewish community. It’s a tremendous blessing. They can remain in touch with their families integrated in the community.” She pointed out that they knew their neighbors, went to the shuls and are part of the “fabric of Jewish life in the Five Towns. They are very much missed.”

She is very grateful that the assisted living facility took them in, but pointed out that it’s “not meant for teenage boys” and that they have to commute to school or jobs. She pointed out that it’s hard for the parents to see them and the quality of life for them is down.

The Bais Ezra home was specifically outfitted for the needs of the residents, explained Lisa Sheinhouse, Assistant Director of OHEL Bais Ezra’s Residential Programs. The home was set up with communications devices. There are pictorial schedules for each boy, using pictures so they know what to expect since the residents, she said, have “limited communication skills, so (with the pictures) they know the routine.” She pointed out that the assisted living facility at the Regency was like “hotel life as opposed to a home environment.”

The home is staffed by three college or yeshiva students in the afternoons, has two awake night staff and one staff member in the morning hours. The staff members are trained by OHEL to work with the boys and many have worked with the developmentally disabled before, said Sheinhouse. All five homes in the Five Towns area, Hewlett, Woodmere, Laurence, Cedarhurst, Far Rockaway, were in evacuation zones and were evacuated before the storm.

“It is their home,” said Sheinhouse. “They live there, they play, they have fun recreational activities; they form a family. They come home from school and relax, the staff showers them, gives them their medication, gets them ready for bed. They have a cook and the more fuller functioning help prepare side dishes and salads. They learn yoga and do arts and crafts. Staff is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The idea for the home was initiated in 2007. They started working on the house in April 2008 and it was set up and opened in September 2008. By December all five residents were in their new home. “We hope that in the next two months we will move into a home in Hewlett temporarily,” she said.

“Initially we didn’t think that it was that bad,” said Moshe Hellman, OHEL’s president. “We didn’t make an issue of it the first week or two. But then we saw that it had too much mold and damage. We need to start on it ASAP. We need the approval of the State. They have to look over the plans. They don’t move very quickly. The Board of OHEL approved the rebuilding to go forward.”

Two of the boys had rooms on the main floor and 98% of their belongings were destroyed in the storm, said Sheinhouse. The specially outfitted sensory room was on the second floor and that along with some of the belongings of the boys on the second floor was not destroyed. But much was, including personal photographs, the playroom downstairs, DVDs, CDs, therapeutic equipment on the main floor, special games for feelings and emotions, toys, arts and crafts projects, a special educational computer donated by Gruss and a touch screen computer for the boys who can’t use a mouse. “Gone,” said Sheinhouse. “The special carpeting and flooring, bathrooms without hard edges, special chairs to facilitate standing from a sitting position, all has to be replaced.”

She said that she is not sure what will be done with the house but that an engineering study is being done. She is certain that the home will be raised and that they will be rebuilding in the same location. “That’s our home, we haven’t reached a decision as to how we’re rebuilding. It’s walking distance to every family in that area. We are part of the community. They miss them. The higher functioning are aware, the others are not. They see that they are not home, that they are not seeing their families as much. They are aware that something has changed and not for the better.” She said that there is progress, that they are working with FEMA, insurance and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities.

Sheinhouse thanked the girls from SKA High School for girls for raising money for them and for the day that the SKA girls took the five young men with their siblings and families on an outing to Fun Station. “The SKA girls have been wonderful,” she said. “They raised a lot of money for them and presented them with toys.”

Sheinhouse expects “at least a year of rebuilding” before they can return to their home in Cedarhurst.

“It’s very devastating,” said Adina Wertman, the mother of one the developmentally disabled boys displaced from the Cedarhurst home. “The boys are very far from the neighborhood. We want them back in the neighborhood as soon as possible and back to their normal routine.” She said that it will be better when they can return to a normal school, bus and home routine, that have been disrupted by the move. “We appreciate the support of the community when reaching out to help get these boys back home,” she added.

“It’s a tremendous blessing,” said Adler, “thank G-d that they are safe; that’s more than a lot of people can say. We want them back. We can make choices for ourselves but we are responsible for their quality of life.”

“The two higher functioning residents say they want to go home a million times,” said Sheinhouse. “They say, ‘I want it back to

normal.’”