Author: Anthony Bennett

Rachel is a living legend as Rose House’s star athlete. She has competed in the Special Olympics and other sporting events for track and field, gymnastics and ice skating, earning multiple gold medals. This includes a gold medal for being the only competitor to perform a handspring vault in 1999 at the Special Olympics World Games in Raleigh Durham North Carolina.

Watch a video of Rachel at the 2011 Essex Special Skaters Spring Show >>

While Rachel’s supportive parents enabled her to make athletic dreams come true, she still needed help reaching the finish line of independent living. That’s where Rose House came in to play.

“We made sure she went to all her activities with Special Olympics, DAWN Center for Independent Living, Morris County Adaptive Recreational Program (McARP) and others but she certainly has the opportunity to be more independent now while living at The Rose House,” said Rachel’s mother Vicki. “They’ve helped with transportation, decision making, doing her own laundry and taking responsibility for herself with food shopping, preparation of meals, and more!”

Rachel is currently keeping her athletic skills sharp by swimming up to 30 laps per session. She’s looking forward to competing in the 2023 Special Olympics in Bocce.

Aside from being sporty, Rachel has an interest in Art, taking virtual painting classes right from her apartment. She’s social and enjoys music and dancing at parties. In addition, Rachel also loves animals. She enjoys pet-sitting her brother’s dog and takes horseback riding lessons. In fact, Rachel recently won two awards, first place and participation, from the Schooling Show at Seaton Hackney Stables! (pictured above) She loves spending time with her family at home and on outings as well as game night and weekend activities with her friends at Rose House.

Although Rachel knows how to have fun, she’s also a hard worker. She recently has packaged for Tiffany’s and has helped wiring for Cablevision at Employment Horizons in Cedar Knolls.

Billy is Rose House’s resident DJ, providing entertainment for the organization’s events. He also has a passion for dancing.

Prior to the Hanover Apartments, Billy was living in an apartment specially built for him in his parents’ home. He had his own bedroom, bathroom, office and everything else to make him comfortable. However, he was missing the most important feature: his feeling of independence.

Soon after moving to Rose House’s Hanover Apartments, his mother recognized a tremendous change in Billy. “I am so proud of what he has accomplished,” Michele said. “He takes great pride in keeping his apartment clean. He does so well with managing everyday life, which Rose House has encouraged through supervision.”

Billy stays busy working as an office clerk for MetLife. Some of his responsibilities include stocking shelves, making sure the coffee makers are stocked and keeping the conference room tidy.

When he’s not working or learning how to improve his DJ skills, Billy loves to visit family, including his niece and nephew in Connecticut. His greatest goal is learning how to fly on his own so he can visit Michele’s winter home in Florida.