The Department for Persons with Disabilities helps people flourish

The Department for Persons with Disabili­ties (DPD) of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Paterson, established in 1965, supports over 300 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities each day. This pioneer agency was founded by Msgr. John Wehrlen to provide critical support to families who have a loved one with special needs.

Now, 57 years later, DPD continues to carry out Father Wehrlen’s legacy of love to support those in need through residential group homes, supervised apartments, the Gruenert Center day habilitation program, Support Coordination, recreational opportunities, and religious education.

The Levine Family is one example of a family helped by DPD. At the age of 21, Eric, a man with Down Syndrome, began experiencing challenges in his life at home with his family. Eric is non-verbal with most people and uses limited words to communicate with those who know him best. At the time, Eric was unable to communicate his needs and was experiencing severe behavioral challenges; his family was desperate for help. This was when Betty and her husband Barry turned to DPD. Eric moved into DPD’s Columbus House in 1999 and has been living there for the past 24 years. He also attends DPD’s Gruenert Center Special Needs program.

Eric has flourished at DPD. He enjoys going out to the mall and out to eat and loves his day program at Gruenert Center. He is content at Columbus House and is supported by dedicated staff who know him so well and are able to meet his needs, each one knowing what Eric is asking for at any given time, even with his limited verbal skills. It is a beautiful thing to witness the love between the residents and staff at DPD.

“We won the lottery the day we found DPD,” said Betty Levine. She and her hus­band are grateful to all who continue to provide a wonderful quality of life for Eric.

Lauren Dennis, Eric’s sister, said, “I truly believe Catholic Charities/DPD’s Columbus House saved my brother’s life. Columbus House and the Gruenert Center have been a miracle for Eric and for our family.”

Eric’s family is devoted to him, visits him often at Columbus House, and enjoys visits with him at their home in New Jersey. When they are in Florida, they keep in touch with Eric via FaceTime. The Columbus House staff assists Eric with this on his iPad, and he loves being able to see his family.

DPD believes that all life is sacred and that every person is a gift from God. Eric is a wonderful person.

This past year, DPD was happy to get back to normal, engaging clients in their usual community activities. These included attending Mass and enjoying community activities with the Knights of Columbus at minor league baseball games and special events. Clients volunteered their time through DPD’s community service group to give back to others in need and enjoyed time with volunteers in DPD’s People Need Friends program, who gave more than 1,200 hours of service to those who live at DPD and attend Gruenert Center. Our CARE (Catholic Adult Religious Education) program also resumed in-person gatherings at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Oak Ridge this year, something our residents look forward to each month as their faith is strong and something they love to share with others. This past year, DPD was proud to achieve a four-year reaccreditation with the Council on Accreditation, an international accrediting body focused on best practice standards. DPD’s Gruenert Center was also awarded a five-year recertification in May by the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities, which has only been achieved by 5 percent of all provider agencies inspected to date this year.

The Department for Persons with Disabilities of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Paterson is provided support from the Diocesan Ministries Appeal. Please consider participating in our Appeal. To make a donation or pledge online, scan the QR code or visit 2023appeal.org. For more information, call 973-777-8818, ext. 215.