FMM: Share your background.
Thank you for your interest in my professional and personal life experience. I was born in Romania and came as a refugee in the United States via Italy. Because my father was a political prisoner under the Communist dictatorship, our whole family was blacklisted as “enemies of the state” and I was refused medical treatment in my native country. Thanks to pressures from the Caritas International, an international Catholic charity organization at the time presided by the later Pope Benedict XVI Ratzinger, I was allowed to leave only with my father (the rest of the family were essentially kept hostage) in the symbolic year 1984 (see George Orwell’s book by the same title), and after receiving a kidney transplant and subsequent medical treatment thanks to the humanity and kindness of the Italian government and of the superbly loving and giving Italian people, I arrived in the USA in 1987. Here I graduated from Central Catholic high school and I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Portland State University. I also graduated later with a Master’s degree in Mediation, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from California State University. I also have a Substance Abuse Counseling Certification from the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) from New York State.
Over the past 20 years I have been working alternatively: as a group counselor with the Catholic Charities; as a case manager with the New York Department For The Aging (DFTA) and respectively with the New York Department for the Homeless Services (DHS); as Faculty by teaching Psychology at Professional Business College and Long Island Business Institute (LIBI); as a Specialty Counselor for groups and individual therapy for, but not limited to Mentally Ill Chemically Abusive clients (MICA), Anger Management; and Re-entry populations at New York Center for Addiction Treatment Services, Inc. (NYCATS/Revcore); I have authored 10 books with Vervante Press on various subjects related to societal and personal conflict resolution techniques.
FMM: You are the Borough Manager for Manhattan Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York (CIDNY). Tell us about the center.
Since 2017 I have been privileged to work as the Borough Manager for Manhattan with New York Connects/the Center for the Independence of the Disabled (CIDNY).
The reason I was mentioning that I feel privileged to work for such a prestigious organization is that CIDNY has a 43 years tradition of consistently assisting individuals with disabilities from the five boroughs of New York to reach, maintain and progress their independence in their lives, by counseling them on available benefits, services, entitlements, accommodations, assistive devices, vocational, legal, educational and consumer protection resources. CIDNY is part of the Independent Living Centers movement: a national network of grassroots and community-based organizations that enhance opportunities for all people with disabilities to direct their own lives. Incidentally the majority of CIDNY’s staff are individuals with disabilities themselves, so in addition to professional know-how and assistance, there is a great deal of empathy from the staff in regards to the plight for a normal life from our clients (whom we actually call ‘participants’, since it is them who are taking ownership of their lives and progressing in their own lives).
FMM: How has the pandemic caused you to pivot?
The pandemic has been hard for all individuals; imagine how much more difficult it has been for individuals with disabilities (working and not working ones); our agency was extremely considerate of our professionals such as ensuring that all accommodations are provided to the staff with but not limited to working remotely, creating a monthly Mental Health Day, allowing for extra time for vaccines and other related treatments, building the infrastructure to be able to function efficiently and at full capacity for the benefits of our participants in record time even when working remotely.
In terms of personal choices, I used this period both introspectively and as an external
opportunity to become even more keenly aware that life, freedom, health, employment,
every day really above ground or water, are gifts. Everything else in terms of our contribution to the above are auxiliary efforts to what is given to us on a temporary basis and as such (these being gifts), I should be imbibed by gratitude for them on a daily basis. To use a quote by the notable American motivational writer William A. Ward: “God gave me 86.400 seconds today. How many of these did I use to say thank you for them?” Something on which to ponder and practice.
FMM: What are the important programs today?
In terms of needs, we are addressing particularly subsidized and supportive housing, cooked and dry foods and shopping referrals, entitlements and benefits (SSI/SSD applications to stimulus checks and unemployment applications assistance, via the Economic Impact Payments), free clothes, and –sadly- referrals to subsidized burial assistance. The list is long.
FMM: Are individuals with disabilities gaining employment as a result of CIDNY?
There are two answers to this great question: CIDNY assists individuals to find and maintain employment directly, by accepting applications to the available intra- agency jobs openings such as at the enclosed link: https://www.cidny.org/jobs/ ; and indirectly, by assisting them to reach vocational training; assistive devices; informing them on their accommodations’ rights under federal, state and city disability protection laws (such as but not limited to the American with Disabilities Act).
FMM: Have you noticed any trends?
We address trends based on obstacles which we may be asked to assist with in terms of resolution. An obstacle in life may be seen as a stumbling block or as a stepping stone, depending on the internal workings of the individual. A human being is consisting of two dimensions which comport two kinds of needs and strengths respectively. Thus the ‘human’ in the human being is physical, flesh and bones and needs material assistance and relies on hard work and/or supportive services to meet one’s physical needs: food, water, shelter, clothes and money.
The ‘being’ in the human being is electro-magnetic, thoughts, emotions, feelings,
character, spiritual and needs love, validation, kindness, compassion, trust and dignity.
I have noticed in the last year a fine dance happening in our lives, where sole focus on
the material needs may create a sense of emptiness based on a quest for a higher
meaning. Similarly, focusing too much on the conceptual needs in life may lead to (self)
neglect on the material aspects. The definition of homeostasis (same state), involves a
balance of mental, emotional, physical, environmental and social aspects in order to
create a fulfilling (fully filling and fully feeling) experience in life. We do our best in
addressing the participants’ needs by following the client centered approach. This is of
course based on the available resources, from material, to legal, to therapeutic.
FMM: What are your goals for the center in 2021?
CIDNY remains committed to address the ongoing general needs of the participants, as it has been doing since 1978. In addition, it demonstrates a superb openness and flexibility to address the unforeseen crisis confronting the world and particularly the individuals with disabilities in New York, such as with the present pandemic. More details may be found at CIDNY’s web page: https://www.cidny.org/ ; or for educational information please contact Ms. Angela Bruen Director of Education 646-933-0160 Email: abruen@cidny.org ; and for media activities please contact Mr. Jeffrey Peters Director of Communications 646-442-4154 email: jpeters@cidny.org . They’ll make sure to provide the information one needs of CIDNY and on how it affects the lives of individuals with disabilities for the better. In regards to the plight for a normal life from our clients (whom we actually call ‘participants’, since it is them who are taking ownership of their lives and progressing in their own lives).
