Age-Friendly Teaneck Has New Project Coordinator to Help Lead Launch of New Initative

​The Bright Side Family is pleased to announce some exciting developments to support the launch of Community Begins at Home, a new project that will offer home-safety assessments and increase advocacy on behalf of Teaneck residents aging with disabilities.

Janice Dorman, a longtime Teaneck resident, will serve as the project coordinator of Community Begins at Home and Age-Friendly Teaneck, dual roles that will have her working in concert with EJ Vizzi, Bright Side’s director of senior programs.

Janice Dorman

Dorman, whose professional background is in the real estate, fashion and project-management fields, has served in numerous community volunteer roles in Teaneck, including as a previous member of The Bright Side Family board. She and her husband raised their two sons in Teaneck.
 
“Janice brings a unique skill set as well as a deep understanding of Teaneck community dynamics and an awareness of the challenges that many residents face in trying to age in safety and dignity in their longtime homes,” said Elizabeth Davis, executive director of The Bright Side Family. “We’re thrilled to have Janice join our Age-Friendly Teaneck team and take the reins of this crucially important new project.”

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EJ Vizzi

EJ Vizzi will shift into an oversight role over Age-Friendly Teaneck, which will allow her to devote more time to guiding and shaping the diverse program offerings of The Bright Side Family. Vizzi’s expanded role includes designing and overseeing Community Begins at Home outreach and volunteer-recruitment efforts as well as the home-safety assessments and social work services to be offered through the project.
 
Key to the project’s success will be input and guidance from individuals with lived experience of having a disability, family caregivers and disability justice advocates. In-person and virtual focus group sessions for Community Begins at Home are scheduled for Oct. 18, which will be followed by distribution of a communitywide survey.
 
Click here to view the focus group invitation and here for more background on the project

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Community Begins at Home is being funded by an Inclusive Healthy Communities grant from the Division of Disability Services, New Jersey Department of Human Services. The project is being led by The Bright Side Family, as an outgrowth of the Age-Friendly Teaneck project, in partnership with the Township of Teaneck and Heightened, Independence and Progress (hipcil).

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