A S.P.A.R.K of Imagination

By Coraline Seksinsky

When Susan Reinhardt’s son, RJ, was around 6 years old, she noticed that he and his friends were not competing at the same level of their peers. She thought it was important “that they feel giving their all would be acknowledged… because their excellence would be at a different level.” It was this realization that pushed Reinhardt to start S.P.A.R.K all those years ago. With that inspiration Supportive Parents Advocating for Our Kids began advocating for, and helped to run, sports programs for people with disabilities. Many of the programs they started are still in operation, taken over by the Rockaway Township Police Athletics League. S.P.A.R.Ks most recent mission is to secure housing so that RJ and his friends can live independent adult lives.

A core part of the S.P.A.R.K is a focus on volunteerism. “I wanted them to know what it felt like to do good,” Reinhardt says. “I know the reason I do it… it’s a wonderful feeling when you’re able to help others. With that in mind I started the Denville’s Mayor Council for People with Challengeswe call it MCPC- and thanks to mayor Tom Andes, with his blessing, the young adults collect food for the thanksgiving food drive, they volunteer with the beautification committee for different things, they volunteer to set up and take down at different community events.” Reinhardt punctuates, lastly, by saying “So it’s not where they’re always at the receiving end of a charity.”

Now, at 28 RJ and his friends have grown into young men who can’t live alone without assistance. The parents are approaching an age where helping to secure long term independence for these young men has become a high priority. Reinhardt notes that at 65 she “can’t imagine going

Denville’s Mayors Council for People with Challenges at a recent event without knowing that my son will be safe and cared for… and the other boys are just as much my kids as my son is.” The state provides a priority list for people with disabilities looking for housing, to say the least it’s a long long wait. “Us parents aren’t going to outlive that list.” Reinhardt punctuates. The other option is emergency placement, which would occur in the case of both parents’ death. Neither of which is ideal.

RJ and his friends are close, they get along and have been a part of the Denville community all their lives, that they stay in the community that has watched them grow up is of utmost importance to S.P.A.R.K. Given the more or less grim choices that they have before them, the members of S.P.A.R.K have imagined a different solution. One which seeks to reduce the confounding wait times and bluntness of state bureaucracy. The idea is to secure housing for the six young men in which they can be independent and live fulfilling lives in Denville. Reinhardt hopes that a piece of land can be donated to S.P.A.R.K, and a home built by Habitat for Humanity.

To raise money to secure the housing, S.P.A.R.K has put on a Polar Plunge for RJ and his friends, so they can stay in Denville, where they have spent their entire lives and where they are loved. Donations to the cause can be made by going to www.denvillespark.org.