- Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

We kick off this program as part of our series, "Making a Difference," not-for-profit leaders, making a difference every day, and we have our longtime friend, Nadine Wright-Arbubarkrr, who is the president and founder of a terrific organization called Nassan's Place.

Nadine, good to see you, my friend.

- Good to see you as well.

- You got it, let me also make it clear that Nadine is a 2024 Russ Berrie, Making a Difference winner.

Nadine, tell everyone as we put up Nassan's Place, the website, tell everyone what it is and why it's so significant, and so personal for you.

- Well, Nassan's Place is out of love of a mother for her child and wanting to have resources within her own community, not only for her child, but for others.

I am the proud mother of a soon to be 20-year-old, 6'6", 320 pounds, he'll be 20 years old on July 28th, and our journey has been a long journey.

It has been good days and bad days, but Nassan's Place is inspired by my own son, Nassan, on the autism spectrum, who was diagnosed back in 2006.

When we got the diagnosis, it was life-changing, but I also went on a search to find programs and services that will help me better understand, or to help give me some types of assistance.

I am born and raised in the great city of Newark, and now currently live in the great city of East Orange.

And when I couldn't find programs and services, I kept asking, "Why aren't there no services here for children on the autism spectrum in urban inner cities?"

And the question came back, "Well, why don't you, as a mother, do something about it," in my head.

And so I set out on a journey in 2012 and started a nonprofit, called Nassan's Place that will help children and families, like my son, to be able to find access to program services.

And truth be told, I was just looking for a mental break, right?

I needed respite, I needed someone to take him for a little bit or to help me better understand what I was dealing with because it was very challenging.

But after I started doing a lot of research, I was able to find programs and services.

They just didn't exist in urban cities of Essex County.

And Nassan's Place was born, and it has definitely changed so many lives, including mine, but it also has opened up the doors to educate more families to get rid of that stigma, but more importantly, to educate our community.

- I remember the day, I was fortunate enough to be there, the day Nassan's Place opened up.

My sister Michele, the founder of the Center for Autism, and you've worked collaboratively with her, and I remember being there the day of and, Nassan was not 6'6", 320 at the time.

He was a very young man, young boy, and you left a career in banking.

20, 25 years in banking, and you said, "I'm gonna do this."

The biggest lesson you've learned in leading a not-for-profit that is so personal, and there are so many challenges leading a non-profit, not the least of which is money, biggest lesson you've learned in doing this over the past 12 years, - I learned to be more patient, to lean on my faith, because my faith has brought me through those days where I thought I could not go on, because even though I am running this organization, I live autism every single day, and just like any other parent, I go through my challenges, and one of the things that has helped me more than anything is my faith, and to believe that I can never give up.

And even when there were those days where I did want to, my faith showed me that I could not, and I know that I live in my purpose right now.

So faith is what keeps me going.

These families who are in so much of the need to have support, and I call children in underserved, inner city communities, the forgotten ones.

I don't want them to be the forgotten ones.

I want the world to know that these children can do anything any other children can do if they just got the right opportunities.

And through the support of so many amazing people, and I call them earthly angels, throughout the years, we've been able to make a difference in the lives of these children.

But the one thing that has kept me steadfast is my faith and my commitment to making sure these children, all children, get the supports and services that they need within their own communities.

- Nadine, let's press this a little further and keep putting up the website for Nassan's Place.

Some of the key services needed by family members of folks like Nassan, how old again, right now?

20?

- Nassan will be 20 on July 28th.

- Okay, we're taping it right before that.

Some of the things that are needed are?

- Well, there's a lot of things that are needed, but before I go further, I just gotta tell you, your sister is one of my sheros along this journey called autism, Michele Adubato.

She has been my inspiration because your sister opened up her heart, right?

Back then, she didn't live it every day, but she had this special heart that your parents raised this amazing human being to open.

And I appreciate her and I just wanted to note that.

But the services that are needed so desperately is programming, such as an afterschool program, such as Saturday respite, such as emergency respite.

One of the things that I'm dealing with now more than I've ever dealt with before is the need for emergency respite.

The state does do very well in providing some of these services, but when a parent is going through what I call an emotional breakdown, and I get those calls in the middle of the night or during the day, we send in staff to go in and give that parent some much needed de-stress time, and that is so important, because if that parent is not mentally able to take care of that child, then where does that leave the child?

So emergency respite is something that I've noticed that we've needed.

Not only that, I'm dealing with food insecurity.

So many of these families now don't have enough food by the end of the month to feed their children.

And some of 'em require a special diet that is a little more costly.

And not to mention homelessness.

So there's so many variants, and when I started Nassan's Place, I was just looking, actually, for some programming and respite.

I had no idea that the social service impact was so huge for the autism community in urban inner cities.

- Nadine, you're one of the winners, a select elite group of winners of the Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference, 2024.

What did and does that mean to you?

- Wow.

To be honored by this prestigious foundation means the world to me, because I know that they take very seriously the sacrifices that so many of us that are on this non-journey path takes.

So to actually be amongst all of these amazing and distinguished honorees and all the amazing work that they do, I'm truly honored and I'm humbled, but what was so even more, I guess great for me is that when Russell Berrie created this award, he thought about the sacrifices of people like Nadine and the Nadines and the countless other people out there who are doing the work, who made sacrifices.

As you mentioned earlier, I worked in a banking career for 25 years.

That was my career.

I gave that up because I wanted to go into the nonprofit and do work within my community and I wanted to serve.

And so we all make these sacrifices, and so often we, as the individuals, don't get that recognition, and what the Russ Berrie Award did is it recognized the sacrifices and it thanked us for the sacrifices that we had done personally.

So I was truly grateful to be one of the top three, and out of 330 nominees, and I gotta tell you, I was truly, truly taken back 'cause my daughter, Naya, submitted the nomination for me.

- That's beautiful.

Listen, the series can be called "Making a Difference," and they're all different folks trying to make a difference every day in the not-for-profit community, but to see how you have grown, how the organization has grown, how Nassan has grown, it's incredibly inspiring.

And wish you and your team all the best, your son, Nassan, all the best, and you are making a difference.

Thank you, my friend.

- Thank you.

- You got it, I'm Steve Adubato.

That's a real leader.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

The North Ward Center.

Kean University.

PSEG Foundation.

Holy Name.

The Adler Aphasia Center.

And by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by Insider NJ.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

- (Narration) Healing is never just about medicine and technology.

It has to go further than that.

It has to combine science with humanity.

It has to be our best medicine, combined with large doses of empathy, kindness, dignity and respect.

It has to be delivered by people who love what they do and who they do it for.

Holy Name.

Great medicine, soul purpose.