ByAaron Carter\/Special to MLB.com|06\/22\/12 6:06 PM ET <\/p>\n
Imagine relying on a wheelchair to navigate your environment, living in a world customized in most communities to fit the needs of everyone else, a world where looking up a flight of stairs might seem like looking up a mountain. <\/p>\n
\"It's difficult, because a stair is a barrier for a person like me,\" said Jennifer Doherty, 38, who was born with cerebral palsy and is a resident of Project Freedom's Lawrenceville Township location. <\/p>\n
Project Freedom is a non-profit organization that provides barrier-free housing, which enables individuals with disabilities to live independently. <\/p>\n
As part of the New York Yankees HOPE week initiative (Helping Others Persevere and Excel), players and personnel from the Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder visited residents and staff in Lawrenceville, N.J. <\/p>\n
Project Freedom co-founder Norman Smith and executive director Tim Doherty -- Jennifer Doherty's father -- will be honored for their service to the community before Friday night's Thunder game. <\/p>\n
\"Project Freedom is freedom for people with disabilities,\" said Jennifer Doherty. <\/p>\n
Doherty is able to live alone because her apartment has amenities like lowered countertops, accessible cabinets and roll-in showers, although she sometimes utilizes aides from outside agencies for anything she can't do on her own. <\/p>\n
That independence is exactly why Smith co-founded the organization in 1984, along with his friend Frieda Applegate. Smith also uses a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy that affects his speech and motor skills. He responded to MLB.com's interview questions via email. <\/p>\n
\"Project Freedom started in my bedroom,\" Smith wrote. \"I returned from graduating from Long Island University to my elderly parents' home facing a life of depending on parents. My options in the '80s were going into a nursing home, where I couldn't go to work, or to a group home.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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HOPE Week brings 'Freedom' from barriers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ByAaron Carter\/Special to MLB.com|06\/22\/12 6:06 PM ET Imagine relying on a wheelchair to navigate your environment, living in a world customized in most communities to fit the needs of everyone else, a world where looking up a flight of stairs might seem like looking up a mountain. \"It's difficult, because a stair is a barrier for a person like me,\" said Jennifer Doherty, 38, who was born with cerebral palsy and is a resident of Project Freedom's Lawrenceville Township location. Continue reading