The Art of Inclusion

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. What an appropriate time for Joseph JB Bensmihen to officially launch his first book Taking Your Place at the Table – The Art of Refusing to be an Outsider. Evergreen Private Care hosted a private book signing for the official launch of JB’s book. We share a unique passion for advocacy.

You see, JB was born with cerebral palsy. At age six, unhappy with being denied a place in a regular elementary school, he walked into Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s office, asked for an immediate meeting with him and got it. He was in the news five years later, when he became the first disabled Canadian student to be mainstreamed in a public school.

Over the past decade, JB has advised multiple members of Congress and met with three Presidents and multiple senators. In 2013 he testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce on affordable care for seniors and people with disabilities.

JB is the former National President of the Private Care Association. For seven years he has been a member for the Board of Overseers for the men’s undergraduate college at Yeshiva University

JB has given hundred of inspirational talks at a wide range of venues. He is a regular presenter around the U.S. for Friendship Circle and the Ruderman Chabad Inclusion Initiative – two organizations dedicated to inclusion for people with disabilities.

Mr. Bensmihen has received Yeshiva University’s Points of Light award and multiple Distinguished Community Service Awards from Florida Atlantic University’s School of Social Work. JB is the keynote speaker for the 2018 Annual Florida Guardianship Association Convention.

What a tremendous night we all experienced! JB spoke and shared his personal story – we were all so moved! We at Evergreen Private Care share in his passion and advocacy for those that need a hand up. Everyone has a need for inclusion. Thank you JB – author, colleague and friend!