Bees are often seen as guardians of the natural world because they pollinate flowers and crops, helping them grow. Marcy Handler, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Abilities First, and her team had the same helping-hand mentality when they came up with the name “Abilibee” for their new resource app. “The brand that we wanted was the sage, someone who kind of knows everything and someone who was more community minded,” Handler said. “The bee has always been a symbol of wisdom and the perfect community is the beehive.”
With funding support of a two-year $400,000 grant from the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Abilities First—a nonprofit provider of education, vocation, residential and community-based services that serves over 1,100 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families—recently launched their comprehensive, all-in-one lifeline app to guide users through critical New York State system changes and life transitions.
From Early Intervention to adulthood, Abilibee includes step-by-step transition guidance through New York State system changes, simplifying how to care for individuals with I/DD and ensuring no one faces the challenges of disability support alone.
The app’s key features include a comprehensive resource library, a communication log to keep contacts and notes all in one place, planning tools for effective advocacy, daily check-ins to track progress and well-being, and even positive affirmations to encourage holistic wellness.
As Jeffery Fox, President and CEO of Abilities First, shared, “[We] wanted to bring clarity to complexity. We wanted to help you out with what comes next. And we wanted to share some great resources.”
Handler noticed a common theme when speaking with parents, advocates and providers that led to the app’s inception: wanting deeper conversations and access to answers. “Everybody really wants to have better conversations about their options and their planning,” said Handler.
“Less playing catch up every time a new person joins the team, less asking and answering the same questions over and over again.”
The app, aimed at empowering and guiding individuals with I/DD and the people who support them, is available for the New York State public to register and use at abilibee.org. With over 200 users already benefiting from Abilibee, it will soon be made available for download on the App Store and Google Play with new features including enhanced security to be HIPAA compliant, a directory for recreational activities happening in the area, a file cabinet feature to keep important documents in one place, and a discussion board where people can meet and talk about their needs or concerns.
As a mother of a child with disabilities herself, Handler understands that there can be challenges. “Parents don’t always see the progress they make every day. It’s stressful and it takes a lot. But there’s joy in it too and we wanted everybody to feel that,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to make [the app] yellow and sunny and happy, to get them to feel some of the joy.”