Warren County Habitat for Humanity receives accessibility award

WHITE TOWNSHIP, NJ (Warren County) – Warren County Habitat for Humanity’s Community Center is the recipient of this year’s Thomas M. Kennedy Excellence in Accessibility Award.

The Warren County Board of County Commissioners announced the award recognizing the accessibility of the community center at 31 Belvidere Avenue, Washington Borough, which opened in April 2022.

The annual honor is named for Kennedy, a relentless advocate for people with disabilities and former member of the county Human Service Department’s Advisory Council on Disabilities, who died in 2008.

Commissioner Director Lori Ciesla explained the award is “for demonstrating notable efforts to improve the quality of life for residents with disabilities.”

Ciesla and fellow Commissioners James R. Kern III and Jason J. Sarnoski, along with county Division of Aging and Disability Services Assistant Program Coordinator Ava Loveland, presented the award to Warren County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Ben Eskow and Director of Development Jason Norment.

The WCHFH Community Center is intended to provide high quality programming to the youth, seniors, and veterans of Warren County and their families. According to the organization, which opened in Warren County in 1997, “It is a place where our community gathers together to learn, grow and thrive by providing a safe and supportive environment to all participants while also ensuring programs offer opportunities for positive interaction and maximum engagement.”

By highlighting a business, organization or individual each year, Ciesla said, “This shows who in our community is really going above and beyond to make sure that whatever their business is or whatever they’re doing, that it is fully accessible to our residents with disabilities. It really makes a huge difference in their lives.”

Norment thanked the commissioners for the award, saying, “This means a lot to us at Warren County Habitat for Humanity.” The organization “brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope,” he said, adding that one way they provide hope is through accessibility, which can “put someone’s mind at ease” when they are seeking services.

Eskow said the community center has had “an amazing impact already,” adding it has been “a wonderful joy for us to be able to have meetings and programs in an accessible location.”

For more information about Warren County Habitat for Humanity, visit www.warrenhabitat.org.