Local legislators honor act of kindness by Modern Support Services’ Jack Darakjian to a Glendale resident with cerebral palsy
GLENDALE—Modern Support Services, LLC, a social services agency that provides support to developmentally and intellectually disabled individuals, Thursday announced executive director Jack Darakjian received a “Community Award” by Glendale’s Character and Ethics Project, for coming to the aid of a man with cerebral palsy.
Darakjian received his award at a Feb. 20 ceremony in which he was recognized for his 14 years of work in the field of disability advocacy and support by legislators including state Sen. Carol Liu, Assemblyman Mike Gatto, Rep. Adam Schiff, L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, as well as representatives of the City of Glendale, Glendale Unified School District and Glendale Fire Department.
“Jack has been helping individuals who are developmentally disabled his entire life,” said Glendale City Clerk Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian who nominated Darakjian for the award. “While most people go through each day without a thought for those who face mental and physical challenges, Jack works to make sure these people are able to live with dignity and respect.”
Longtime Glendale resident Nick Franklin, who has cerebral palsy, had made several attempts to repair his computer—his mode of communication with the outside world. But after several weeks he was about to give up because he simply could not afford any of the repair jobs. Darakjian found someone to repair his computer at no charge.
“It’s important to me to strive each day to be a productive citizen in our society, which is exactly what we want to help our clients become,” said Darakjian, founder and executive director of Modern Support Services, which is based in Glendale, with offices in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “At the core of it, there is nothing more fulfilling than helping somebody in need to the best of my abilities, so I am deeply honored to be recognized for a value I hold dear to my heart and which formed the foundation upon which I built Modern Support Services.”
“He exceeded my expectations. I was so grateful for his help in having my computer fixed. My computer is such a vital link for me to the outside world that I was lost for weeks without it,” Franklin said. “I was very touched by his kindness and generosity. He showed great compassion and respect to me when I desperately needed help.”
Modern Support Services is a social services agency that has been providing supports to developmentally and intellectually disabled individuals in Los Angeles and Orange counties since 2000 to help them live on their own.