Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 5/1/2019
CHICOPEE – Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito held a bright green drumstick in each of her hands and followed along with a group of autistic adults as Jessalynn Franceschina of FitChics Unleashed led them through a class of Pound, a style of aerobics that uses lightly-weighted drumsticks in a full-body workout.
The gym was Polito’s final stop on a tour of Chicopee’s Sunshine Village, an adult day program for people with disabilities and autism. Polito, who visited in honor of Autism Awareness Month, was greeted by Executive Director Gina Kos, who spoke to her about how funding from Medicare helps the organization and gave the lieutenant governor a tour of the facility.
Polito stopped into rooms with different activities to talk to staff and participants as she toured, including a craft room and an area where participants were learning to make brownies. While touring the facility, Polito was introduced to Ernest N. Laflamme Jr., the president of the board at Sunshine Village and former city treasurer. She thanked him for the work he was doing.
Sunshine Village has facilities in Chicopee, Springfield, Westfield, and Three Rivers, and 275 staff members who engage with over 500 participants. The main campus on Litwin Avenue specializes in providing activities for program participants on the autism spectrum who are between the ages of 18 to 35, thought the organization is open to adults of all ages.
The campuses offer structured programs that are therapeutic and designed to address life skills, interpersonal skills, and individualized self-care needs. There are speech and occupational therapists as well as behavioral specialists.
There are also community-based services for adults who need help to develop professionalism, teamwork, problem-solving, social skills, communication, self-motivation, and self-advocacy. The participants then use these skills in volunteer work. For those who are ready to join the workforce, Sunshine Village partners with businesses and organizations in the region to offer work experience. Kos said that there was “more to do.”
Polito was presented with a canvas that had been made by program participants. On it was a figure of a woman whose hair was made of puzzle pieces, a symbol for autism awareness. At the bottom of the canvas was written, “Different not less!”
“I am so proud of you and your wonderful program,” said Polito. “And these individuals, who are able to come here and leave happy.”