Sweeney Tours Abilities Solutions, an Organization that Helps Persons With Disabilities Find Employment

WESTVILLE – Speaking today after touring Abilities Solutions, Senate President Steve Sweeney praised the work of the South Jersey sheltered workshop.

“This place is close to my heart,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “Sheltered workshops offer employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, like my daughter. They provide a safe work environment that showcases the abilities persons with disabilities possess. Abilities Solutions is needed in South Jersey, as are other such organizations across the state. That is why I will not allow funding for sheltered workshops to be cut from this year’s budget and why the Legislature’s budget adds $5 million more for them than did the governor’s.”

“Senate President Sweeney is a friend to and advocate for Abilities Solutions,” said Susan Perron, president and CEO of Abilities Solutions. “His personal connection to our mission is appreciated because he speaks not just as a politician for us, but as a father.”

Abilities Solutions was founded in 1963 and provides employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and other barriers to full participation in the workforce. It works collaboratively with employers throughout the South Jersey region.

As a sheltered workshop, it is an example of an organization that would be negatively impacted by the governor’s originally proposed budget that cut funding to many social service programs, including services for victims of domestic violence, monies for cancer research, prisoner reentry programs and for children with autism. The Legislature’s budget includes an additional $150 million for these and other vital programs.