Backyard Buddies Program

New England Yachad is dedicated to addressing the needs of all individuals with disabilities and including them in the Jewish community across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The organization works tirelessly to combat the social isolation that traps people with disabilities and prevents them from thriving socially, academically and professionally. This grant supports New England Yachad’s Backyard Buddies (BYB) program. BYB was launched in 2020 to offset the extreme isolation of Yachad members during the pandemic. BYB brings Yachad staff to members’ backyards to play games, engage in sports, and make art together. This program is especially popular among nonverbal and minimally verbal adults who do not benefit as much from virtual programs and may have difficulty traveling to Yachad offices.