Richard first walked through the doors of ICL’s Joselow residence on the Upper West Side in 1976. The stay was brief, with Richard moving on to live on his own, but the good memories of his time at Jaslow stuck with him. Now, almost half a century later, he’s returned to the place he once called home. “I remembered it being a very nice place to live, and it still is,” says Richard.

Joselow provides housing, support and rehabilitation services to individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) and visual impairment, like Richard. He came to Joselow for this specialized care that his family thought would be better for him given a recent injury.

Joselow’s approach is to focus on the individual and not their disability, helping each person reach their fullest potential and live in the community with dignity. Staff members include social workers, medical professionals, direct support professionals and other specialized staff whose mission is to support residents in meeting their goals.

Richard has many goals. He’s saving up to take a trip to a summer camp for the visually impaired that he hasn’t visited since before the pandemic. 

Residents gather to enjoy music in the Joselow community room.

A Feast for Our Veterans

On July 15th, our President & CEO Jody Rudin joined New York City Council members Robert Holden and Julie Won to serve 500 meals from O’Neill’s in Maspeth to residents of our Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, the only facility of its kind in New York City.

We are thankful to Council Member Holden, Council Member Won, O’Neill’s and Grunhub, which paid for the meals--the donation put smiles on the faces of the residents and staff at Borden.

Food insecurity is on the rise nation-wide, and veterans experiencing homelessness have not been spared. At the same time, local restaurants have struggled, first with the impacts of the pandemic, and now with rising costs. Grubhub, through its Serving the City, aims to help local businesses while addressing food insecurity across all five boroughs.

Borden Avenue Veterans Residence in Long Island City helps over 200 veterans struggling with mental health challenges and severe traumatic experiences. Our goal is to help all our residents live their fullest lives while addressing their full health and mental health needs. 

This lunch was an opportunity for residents to dine, visit with each other, and have their voices heard with the Council Members. We look forward to working with our city partners including the NYC Department of Veterans' Services to host more great events like this one in the future. 

You can read more about the event in these new stories:

O’Neill’s, Grubhub treat vets to lunch: 500 meals delivered to LIC residence for those who served in the military

Queens elected officials partner with Grubhub to donate meals to veterans

Vets Get 500 O’Neill’s Meals

Grubhub Partners With Maspeth Restaurant to Donate 500 Meals to Long Island City Veterans Shelter

Institute for Community Living 

ICL helps New Yorkers of all backgrounds and ages living with serious mental illness, substance use disorder, and developmental disabilities achieve greater health and independence.

From housing to care coordination to office- and school-based support, our innovative whole health approach addresses behavioral and physical health as well as the social determinants of health such as housing and food security.

Call 844-ICL-HOPE (844-425-4673) to connect to resources.

Visit iclinc.org to learn more about ICL programs and services.