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.

Project Freedom is a non-profit organization that provides barrier-free housing, which enables individuals with disabilities to live independently.

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.

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.

"Project Freedom is freedom for people with disabilities," said Jennifer Doherty.

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.

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.

"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."

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HOPE Week brings 'Freedom' from barriers