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The AECDC has been providing services since October, 2000. By the Spring of 2008, we have served more than 1,600 people who do not have the resources to meet their very real, specific, and current needs.
Mission of the AECDC:
Our work is based on our belief that all people are entitled to be helped with dignity and respect to meet their physical and emotional needs. The mission of the AECDC is to actively collaborate with others to provide social, legal, education, and health-related services for all members of the varied religious and ethnic groups that make up greater Middlesex County, NJ.
Goals of the AECDC:
To provide free, accessible and respectful community-based services for people who are in need of durable medical equipment, baby equipment, and health insurance information in Middlesex County and Franklin Township. To provide information, referral, advocacy and follow-up for clients needing additional services. - To act as a facilitator with other community agencies seeking information, networking opportunities, and creating new programs.
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The Need in Middlesex County:
Facts about medical equipment and the poor in Middlesex County, 2008
- Unsteady on their feet, our neighbors who are elderly or disabled are afraid to bathe themselves. They need shower seats, but Medicare does not cover any “bathroom only” equipment.
- Injured but uninsured, workers with broken legs cannot get hospital beds in their homes.
- Elderly spouses of those needing wheelchairs cannot take their loved one out of their home: Medicare covers only standard weight wheelchairs; Medicare does not cover the lightweight wheelchairs that are easier for elderly caregivers to fold and put in the car.
Facts about babies born to the poor in Middlesex County, 2008
- Newborns are stranded at area hospitals because their parents don’t have car seats;
- Infants are being fed sugar water because their parents can’t afford formula;
- Babies are sleeping on the floor because their parents can’t afford cribs;
- Young children are not adequately dressed for cold or wet weather.
More Facts:
Fact: The Federal Policy Level used to determine eligibility for many public services is the same whether a family lives in Missouri, Montana, Michigan, or Middlesex County, NJ.
For 2008, a family of four is considered above the poverty level if they earn $21,200 or more Anywhere in the 48 contiguous United States.
Fact: In New Brunswick, 35.3% of children are living in families that are “near poor,” earning 101% to 200% of the poverty line (Health and Health Care of New Brunswick's Children: Findings From the Healthier New Brunswick Community Survey, pg.4).
Fact: In Middlesex County, NJ, even families earning between 200% and 300% of the poverty level must “choose between basic necessities – whether to meet one’s need for child care but not nutrition, or housing but not health care.” (The Real Cost of Living in 2008: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey Pg. 4)
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