On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, the New Jersey-based non-profit organization devoted to the South Asian community, SKN Foundation, launched a national helpline for families of children with disabilities.

The event was held at Imperia By Dhaba in Somerset, NJ and attended by around 75 community leaders and members of the media in an attempt to expand outreach and awareness about the program around the nation.

“We have been serving our local families, bringing them together, empowering them and educating them and guiding them to access resources. Now we are going national with the SCOPE helpline,” Dr. Narendra Mehrotra of SKN Foundation told News India Times. “Anyone in US, especially South Asian families, can call us, and consult us. It is to help them be not isolated or alienated.”

Among the high-profile guests at the event were US Congressman-elect Dr. Herbert Conaway, Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Padma Shri recipient and chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media and ITV Gold, Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka of Robert Wood Johnson, Parvez Mansoori and Sunitha Banda of G1Health, apart from the leaders of SKN Foundation.

In his welcome address to the gathering, Dr. Naveen Mehrotra said, “Today we are here to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and also to roll out the national SKN helpline which will be a helpline for any family that has a child with disabilities across the country.” He went on toa add, “When a family is faced with a child with disabilities, they’re at a loss. They get isolated. They have a very hard time navigating the world of disabilities.”

The SKN Foundation, is “hoping to help those families by giving them a helping hand and being able to have a resource that they can call into –a national helpline number that we can try to guide them onto resources and hopefully feel better about their child; hopefully go ahead and improve the outcome and the future for their child,” Dr. Naveen Mehrotra said.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, his mother, Moti Mehrotra, performed the ceremony, accompanied by Congressman-elect Conaway. Dr. Conaway, who will be among the few physicians in the US Congress starting this January, praised the work of SKN Foundation, with which he has worked over the years as a New Jersey Assemblyman and Chairman of the Health Committee.

Dr. Mehrotra and others from SKN Foundation also praised Dr. Parikh for his long association with the non-profit. “Thank you so much Dr. Sudhir Parikh and ITV Gold for always supporting SKN and helping us spread the message across all of the viewers that are there associated with ITV Gold,” said Dr. Mehrotra.

In his speech, Dr. Parikh said, “My friend Dr. Naveen Mehrotra started Sri Krishna Nidhi Foundation many years ago and I was lucky enough and privileged enough to be part of it right from the inception.”

Dr. Mehrotra, “is doing great philanthropic work mainly in the education field. We know that the most important work in the philanthropic field is education and really Naveen, you are doing a great job and you can always count on Parikh Worldwide Media and ITV Gold and me personally for your initiative and congratulation and wish you all the best,” Dr. Parikh added.

“Thank you for always being there and as you said you were there as we laid the foundation for SKN foundation and we’re really honored and privileged to have that blessing of yours to continue, as we have grown,” Dr. Mehrotra responded.

Following the official launch of the national helpline, 908-333-4435, Dr. Tushar Patel from the Health Camp of New Jersey thanked SKN for the initiative.

Patel noted how SKN has been doing work in the areas of chronic disease awareness, diabetes awareness in the South Asian community for many years, reducing the healthcare disparities in the community.

Dr. Rajeev Mehta, a neonatologist, validated the value of the programs undertaken by SKN, including the latest national initiative.

Dr Vikas Dharnidharka, a pediatric nephrologist and transplant specialist and new chair of pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said he was new to New Jersey and had just found out about the work of SKN Foundation.

“I just heard about the SKN Foundation very recently and very proud to be here to hear about the accomplishments of the Foundation, particularly in helping handicapped children, provide a support-line for them and also very proud to see the inauguration of the helpline today. This is a great support service. I applaud the Foundation for doing it and our children in the community desperately need (this), Dr. Dharnidharka said.

Parvez Mansoori and Sunitha Banda of G1Health, have created the technology infrastructure to ensure that SKN workers are able to reach people and vice versa. Dr. Mehrotra told New India Times that all the technicalities and platform to support the calls, was built by GIHealth. “Through their philanthropy they have given us this technology and they have given future support at no cost,” Dr. Mehrotra said, adding, “When the community comes together it is the best. They also saw the value of what we are doing in the whole United States.”

Dr Sunil Parikh, community outreach director at SKN, who  works for South Asian Institute at St Peters University Hospital, also spoke at the event. Dr. Sunil Parikh has been with SKN Foundation since its inception and provided details about how special needs population within the Indian and South Asian communities have been helped by SKN.

“SKN is the leading organization in creating protocols procedures instructions, information and training for the parents of Indian kids, South Asian kids, and we have coordinators, trainers, advisers.They can advise and have a voice for parents who have a special needs children.”

People who have special needs children need to contact SKN Foundation before they fill out paperwork for schools and other institutions, and to understand the process because it does impact their children’s lives. “So we are the mediator between the education system,” Dr. Sunil Parikh said.

(Used with permission)