Monterey Bay Forum

Excellent idea to have a therapy center rather than a mosque at Ground Zero. See recent article in New Patriot Journal 9-19-2010 by Cindy Chafian reprinted from The Daily Right.

Bad idea to make therapy free — better to make it sliding scale and everyone pays according to an agreed on formula.

Instead of Hollywood stars and well known folks, get community involvement and require parent/family participation from all using the center.

It works fine to have some pay more. The proposed therapy center at Ground Zero needs to attract families with money and stability and connections who want to get behind the goals of the project. Get those people on the board.

Again — don’t make it “free”.

The above advise is based on my five years experience starting and running a child care center in Santa Cruz, CA to assist homeless families get on with their lives. The name is Calvary Childcare Center and – 20 years later – it is still serving the community.

I learned that children’s lives could be turned around with as little as 4 hours child care 2 days a week. I learned that ‘free-bees” are not the way to motivate people to change their lives.

The impulse and motivation of DAD’s offer are authentic. And the timing is right.

Just get the pricing right. And get personal involvement by every family served. I support the therapy center’s overall goals. And many, many people can get behind the idea. written by Cameron Jackson

See the following story about the proposed therapy center:

Non-Profit Organization Proposes Ground Zero Mosque Compromise

Written By: Cindy Chafian
Published: 9/19/2010
“New Jersey based Non-Profit organization Drums and Disabilities is prepared to move forward with plans to build a state of the art therapy facility in the location where the Ground Zero Mosque is currently slated to be built.

“Weeks ago, Pat Gesauldo, an accomplished, award-winning drummer and CEO of D.A.D. presented Governor Patterson, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Imam Faisal Rauf and property owners Sharif El-Gamal, and Hisham El-zanaty with his proposal, timeline and plan to build the center.

The State-of–the Art Therapy Center will offer free physical and cognitive therapy services for children whose parents were victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Police, Fire, and Rescue workers who might now be disabled, and for the wounded troops from the Tri-State Area.

As of yet, no one from Governor Patterson’s or Mayor Bloomberg’s office has even bothered to return calls from Gesualdo about joining efforts to reach a less controversial use of one of the last remaining buildings directly impacted by the attacks from 9/11. (The top of the building was damaged by the landing gear from one of the planes during the attack.)

Property owners Sharif El-Gamal and Hisham El-zanaty as well as Imam Faisal Rauf recently turned down Donald Trump’s offer of $6 million to purchase the building, claiming that the building was worth almost 4 times that amount.

Gesualdo respects the right to build the mosque in this location but feels that his idea would be a much more reasonable compromise for the community and country. He describes the facility as one that “will be funded by our own organization, our own community, and our own Government. Additionally it will offer free therapy services for special needs children whose parents were victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Police, Fire and Rescue Workers, and wounded troops.”

Gesualdo has reached out to Trump hoping to join efforts and his support as well.

Through private, state and federal grants and donations, Gesualdo is willing to come to the table with an offer of $12 million. This is double what Donald Trump came to the table with last week. and a 3 times the amount the current owners purchased the property for a little over a year ago.

Critics of Gesualdo and his plan have raised questions as to the timing, funding and motivation of his proposal. He addressed those concerns with me in an interview yesterday.

The Daily Right: There are those who would question why you have chosen now to get involved. Why have you chosen now to build the center? What motivated you to propose your center here vs. somewhere else?

Gesualdo: I have been searching for a building to build a DAD Program Therapy Center in the Ground Zero area and lower Manhattan for 3 years. What not a better location then to offer our free therapy services for 9/11 victims? This building is the last remaining building that was directly damaged by one of the planes as it flew into the twin towers. No one should tear it down, whether it be the mosque developers, or an American construction company.

My motivation for this purchasing this specific building is because I offer a truly healing opportunity for this location. We help children and adults with Autism, Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, Tourette’s, Aspberger’s Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, ODD, OCD, and other disabilities, to develop retention, coordination, self-esteem, fine motor skills, and physical and cognitive functioning.

We currently offer our program, which is conducted by doctors, teachers, and special needs service providers in schools, hospitals, and community centers throughout the world.

TDR: You say that this facility will provide free therapy services for special needs children from those affected by 9/11 as well as military members and their family. How will your organization be able to provide these services free of charge?

Gesualdo: We plan to build a state-of the-art non-profit therapy center that would offer free therapy services for special needs children whose parents were victims of 9/11, free therapy services for the Police Officers, Firefighters, and Rescue Heroes who are now disabled as part of 9/11, and free therapy services for wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the Wounded Warriors Project. We can offer our services to these victims for free, because we will offset the cost with other paid therapy services and income from this building. Additionally, we have a team of therapists willing to donate their services for free.

TDR: $12 million is a lot of money. How do you intend to raise the money if Trump or anyone else won’t get involved?

Gesualdo: I have countered Donald Trump’s original offer of $6,000,000.00 with my own offer of $6,000,000.00, to raise the purchase the mosque property at Ground Zero, with an offer of $12,000,000.00. I have recently invited Donald Trump to join forces with me in this effort, by using our combined donations. If he does not wish to join me, then I will raise the $12,000,000.00 through our own efforts of our non-profit organization, with part private and public funding.

TDR: You are hoping to raise the funds through the generosity of everyday American’s who are willing to support your vision. What happens if you raise the $12 million and those who currently hold the rights to those properties decide not to relinquish those right or move the Islamic center/mosque?

Gesualdo: I have put the offer on the table for mosque developers and leaders Imam Rauf, Sharif El-Gamal, and Hisham Elzanaty, and privately and publicly encouraged them to discuss this purchase price. I am not starting a fund raising effort now, and only will when the mosque developers accept my offer. At that time, and only at that time, will our fundraising campaign begin for the purchase of the mosque property. Our fundraising campaign and financial management is independently over seen from myself and the DAD Program, by a major CPA firm.

TDR: If those who claim to want to reach a reasonable solution to this controversial issue decide not to accept your generous offer, will you build your center in a different location? If so, won’t those who donated on behalf of the project being built at this specific location feel betrayed?

Gesualdo: I would be more then happy to build a therapy center, and offer the same services anywhere, and have been looking at different locations in NY, NJ, and CA. for the past few years. Each specific fundraising campaign will be focused for a specific location only. Therefore, the money raised from the fundraising campaign to purchase the mosque property, will be used to purchase the mosque property only. A fundraising campaign for the Mosque property will begin when the mosque developers agree to a purchase price with me, and at that time only.

TDR: How can you guarantee that the money donated by everyday American’s will be used for the purpose they intended?

Gesualdo: The nice thing about working on this specific project, is that I want all people to feel they have some part in saving this building. Since we are a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization, anyone who donates can use their donation as a write off. It is mandatory that everyone knows exactly how much money we have raised, and the current amount at all times, which will be disclosed publicly, constantly. Donors may also wish to remain anonymous. The fundraising campaign and financial management for the purchase of the mosque property at Ground Zero is independently over seen from myself and the DAD Program, by CPA Michel Karu and the major CPA firm of Levine/Jacobs & Company. We will also have a separate Board of Directors for the Therapy Center, which will be comprised of many of the celebrities, sports stars, executives, and community leaders, and police officials who currently take part in our program.

If those who are currently in the middle of the controversial issue surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque truly are interested in achieving a compromise that all communities are satisfied with, it would appear as though Mr. Gesualdo’s offer would achieve just that.

What better use of this property than a non-profit organization who has a proven track record of giving back to the community? This offer would enable those currently holding the rights to the property to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. It would truly show the American citizens, all of whom were affected by the attacks from 9/11 in one way or another, that this Imam and his associates really are about mending fences,healing and moving forward.

If they reject this truly altruistic offer by Gesualdo and the D.A.D. program then it will show America and the rest of the world that they really don’t care what they feel, rather they are only in it for themselves.

Here’s a case that illustrates why and how to reform social security disability.

Billy – not his real name – is a five year old boy. When age 3 he was diagnosed with Autistic Disorder and put on social security disability.

Billy’s parents have drug problems, are unemployed and have been in and out of shelters.

Due to neglect, Billy was removed by CPS and placed in a foster home 2 days a week. The other 5 days Billy lives with his mother in a shelter. His father’s where-abouts are unknown.

The care that Billy received 2 days a week for 10 months in a foster home was sufficient that Billy changed dramatically.

Billy changed from having no language to speaking in 4-5 word sentences, from not being potty trained to potty trained, from ignoring other children to seeking them out.

This child is not autistic and should not receive social security disability based on that or any other diagnosis. Currently, Billy has behavior problems and having missed considerable school is behind other students.

How to reform the system so children are not put on disability who should not?

There are some very simple ways to radically reform social security disability.

Judiciously limit who gets on social security disability to start with. Limit the time period to maximum of 1 or 2 years depending on severity. Make it clear that any new information that shows much higher functioning will automatically cut off the benefit.

Tell the family that the benefit automatically dies once the 1 or 2 years has passed. Make the family be the moving party to continue the benefit. Assess the child again prior to re-newing the benefit.

Legislative changes: Require that a copy of all 3 year school assessments is sent electronically to social security for review. Hire licensed psychologists as independent contractors to review cases.

Require that all California regional centers provide social security with electronic copies of psychological and medical reports.

These simple changes can reform social security disability.