To provide community access through effective and comprehensive support services for people with disabilities, at-risk youth and people with affordable housing needs, giving them the opportunity to live independently and to lead normal and productive lives as citizens integrated into the community.

As a result of a father taking an active role in enabling his son with mental disabilities gain access to community resources, the Association for Advancement of the Mentally Handicapped (AAMH) was established in 1976. This agency was made possible due to the relentless efforts of Arthur Rittmaster, Jr. who secured grants to provide services in Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties. The goal of this parent was to offer community inclusion to those persons who were being de-institutionalized and/or needed community support.

In 1979, Sid Blanchard founded and spearheaded the Union County Agency with a $90,000 grant that provided community based support services to twenty adults with developmental disabilities. When the term "mentally handicapped" was no longer a socially acceptable term, the agency changed its name from the Association for Advancement of the Mentally Handicapped to Community Access Unlimited (CAU) in January of 1993. Additionally, CAU expanded its services to at-risk youth in 1983.

Sid Blanchard, the Executive Director of Community Access Unlimited, continues to be the voice and force in ensuring that persons with disabilities and at-risk youth gain access to the support systems and housing needed for them to live productively within their communities.

Community Access Unlimited is a non-profit social service organization located in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The agency has served over 5,000 members and has an operating budget of $16 million. For over 27 years CAU has been in the business of providing quality support services for all people in need. Services offered include housing, employment assistance, recreational and educational, life skills training, in-home respite services, counseling, health maintenance, personal assistance services, crisis intervention, parenting skills and more.

Staff members at CAU consist of individuals from various educational and cultural disciplines and backgrounds, as do our members who receive support services, thereby representing a microcosm of the world in which we live.

Community Access Unlimited (CAU) offers inclusion, affords opportunity and provides access to a wealth of resources. We link individuals to support networks and partner employees with employers.