Program helps make homes safer for seniors, disabled BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer PHOTO COURTESY OF WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac (r) with Woodbridge Middle School special education teacher Elizabeth Rollo and the Lansang family announce the annual Tooling Around the Township fix-up program for senior and disabled residents on April 9 at the Woodbridge Community Center. WOODBRIDGE- When Woodbridge Middle School special-education teacher Elizabeth Rollo tried to help Faustino Lansang carry his wheelchair-bound son Genaro, 9, down the seven stairs to the outside of their Fords home last summer, she wanted to do something more. "I was telling myself there has to be a better way to get Genaro out of the house to the doctors or even just outside," she said. "Genaro's dad, Faustino, has to carry him in his wheelchair every time Genaro needs to go somewhere." Genaro was born with lissencephaly, which, according to theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, is a rare, gene-linked brain malformation characterized by the absence of normal convolutions, or folds, in the cerebral cortex and an abnormally small head. "Genaro needs full-time special care… he can't walk or talk, he needs to be fed through a feeding tube," said Faustino Lansang. "All his medication is fed through the tube every four hours to control the seizures. My wife, Myrna, cares for Genaro throughout the day along with our two other children, Dominic, 8, and Christian, 4, while I'm at work. When I come home, I care for Genaro while my wife goes to work in the evenings." Rollo, who has been a home instructor for Genaro since July 2007, saw in March 2008 the advertisements for the township's annual Tooling Around the Township, a community-based program, which strictly functions on donations raised year-round, organized teams of volunteers, local trades persons and business sponsors to fix up, repair and help maintain homes for senior and disabled township residents. Mayor John E. McCormac relaunched the annual program with its current name - it was previously called Christmas in April- on March 2, 2007. This year's Tooling Around the Township will be held on April 26. "I e-mailed themayor directly and described howmuch the Lansangs could use a wheelchair ramp," she said. The mayor's office responded to Rollo's request the same day. "The immediate response has been overwhelming and amazing, because the Lansangs are such a wonderful and loving family," said Rollo. "In my 22 years as a special-education teacher, this is probably one of the highlights of my career." Faustino Lansang said his family had not heard about the program and was so glad to find out that Rollo had helped them obtain a much-needed wheelchair ramp. "I would have to manually bring Genaro down step by step, slowly, which is quite dangerous," he said. "It's OK for now, because he is only 9 years old and not that heavy, but it's a good thing that there is a solution to it." Caroline Ehrlich, former council woman and now the township's chief of staff, along with McCormac and Woodbridge Housing Authority Executive Director Donna Brightman established the Christmas in April program in 2000. Since 2000, more than 120 township senior and handicapped residents and their families have benefited from home repairs through the efforts of Tooling Around the Township. Additionally, community volunteers have built 15 wheelchair ramps and made modifications for residents with handicaps at more than 19 residences. The township in July 2007 established the Tommy Toolbox program, which is available year-round for senior and handicapped township residents. Seniors and handicapped residents can apply to the program, or someone can nominate a senior or handicapped resident in need, by logging on to the township Web site at www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us or by calling the Tooling Around the Township hot line at (732) 634-2750, ext. 105. The program is coordinated by the Woodbridge Housing Authority, which reviews applications for eligible residents