Participants in The Arc of Essex County’s Adult Recreation, Group Respite, and Community Inclusion programs enjoyed a busy April together. Recent activities included: The continuation of the international-themed “Tasty Treats” cooking class series on April 2, 9, and 16 A visit to YESTERcades of Westfield on April 6, where participants enjoyed playing old arcade games, skee-ball, air hockey, billiards, and more. A stroll through the flowering trees at the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park in Newark on April 13. A Spring Bingo and Karaoke Party at Studio Arc on April 27 Bowling trips to Bowlero Belleville on April 5, 12, and [...]

As the weather has warmed up, The Arc of Essex County’s Day Programs have been bustling, with activities in April that included: Bridges trips to the aquarium, the Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park and bowling excursions SYA participants making spring crafts together, going out for their international luncheon, completing an Easter egg scavenger hunt, and wearing blue for Autism Awareness Month Visits from all of the day programs to Studio Arc for projects such as jewelry making, pixel art, optical art, and creating a collaborative artist garden, as well as GameU classes Representatives from several of the programs gathering for The Arc [...]

Residents in The Arc of Essex County’s group homes and apartments have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather and going on excursions together, including: Residents at the Oakwood Group Home visiting Liberty State Park, the Montclair Art Museum, celebrating William’s birthday, and going bowling together The Newark Apartment Program enjoying a delicious Easter lunch together Light lantern making for residents at the Linden Group Home The Verona Apartment residents celebrating James’s birthday with a special dinner out The ladies of Belleville, Orange, 705, Green, and Ashwood group homes gathering for a Girls’ Night In at Studio Arc, where they learned how to crochet. A raucous trivia [...]

The month of April featured a variety of activities for The Arc of Essex County’s children’s programming, offering toddlers, children, and teens educational and engaging experiences together: Children’s Respite celebrated Easter with a visit from the volunteers of Stars of Elegance, who helped the children decorate cupcakes, dye eggs, and go on an Easter egg hunt and donated Easter baskets to each participant. The Children’s Respite group has also been studying how to make healthy food choices and going on excursions to a buffet meal together to apply their lessons. Communi-Play provided engaging and musical communication lessons for our 2.5- to 5-year-olds, [...]

Visit The Arc of Essex County’s SYA Day Program in Nutley and you’re likely to see Bram hard at work drawing many beautiful pictures. He enjoys all of what SYA has to offer, especially community lunch and holiday parties. But his true passion is art, and he loves sketching original pencil and pen drawings whenever he can. Bram only joined SYA earlier this year, but he has been enjoying the Saturday Group Respite program and many Hotel Respite weekends with his Arc community for years, and says he considers his fellow Arc participants some of his very best friends. He especially [...]

Growing up, Sashoy Pryce was immersed in the world of service. Through her church, she was regularly volunteering at food pantries, helping the homeless, and supporting people in need. So when it came time to decide what she was going to study, she knew she wanted a career that would be focused on giving back. Shoy first went in the direction of learning to be a medical assistant while regularly volunteering with the disability population. Even her advisor at Essex County Community College could see that she was meant to be in a more social role, so rather than going in [...]

It is with great sadness that The Arc of Essex County announces the passing of Scott Ovsiew. Scott had been a part of the Arc family since 2010, when he first resided in the Verona Apts. In 2017, Scott moved to the 705 Apartment Program and finally the Belmont Group Home in 2022. He started attending The Arc’s Community Link Day Program in 2016 before joining the West Caldwell Day Program in 2018. Scott was known for his great memory, love for games shows, Target graphic T-shirts, and his preference for Entenmann’s chocolate cake and peanut butter. He made sure [...]

With heavy hearts and fond memories, The Arc of Essex County remembers Robert Otterbine, who passed away on his 61st birthday. Robert was a one-of-a-kind spirit—an artist with a witty soul. He was sharp as a tack, especially when it came to a good game of Jeopardy or a round of Hangman. His humor was bold, sometimes mischievous, and always unforgettable. After delivering one of his many jokes, he'd flash a grin and say his signature line: "I have a million of them, hachacha!" Robert lived in the Verona Apartments since 2008, attended West Caldwell Hub, and was a frequent participant [...]

For individuals seeking a community living placement, The Arc of Essex County has the following May 2025 openings: (NEW!) Fairfield Apartments (1 Female Vacancy) Luxury apartment living in Fairfield in two-bedroom apartment Supervised apartment setting for an individual on the CCP Access to residential staff in building 24/7 Building features a lounge and game room, as well as another Arc two-bedroom residence Just steps away from Studio Arc Close proximity to shopping and dining West Caldwell Group Home (1 Female Vacancy) Single-family style home in a quaint neighborhood 24/7 supervision All-female home Care given based on individual needs Group enjoys taking day trips together, pursuing hobbies at home, and enjoying backyard picnics Belleville Group [...]