Residents from various Arc of Essex County group homes got the opportunity to spread their artistic wings when they attended a class at Studio Arc led by Dario Scholis, an artist well known in the Elizabeth area for his murals and artwork using recycled materials. Scholis demonstrated the use of acrylic paints and encouraged the Studio Arc artisans to express themselves freely. Each participant left with a beautifully matted masterpiece. Located on Passaic Avenue in Fairfield, Studio Arc is The Arc of Essex County’s newest space, and provides visitors with opportunities to engage in a wide range of visual and creative arts [...]

Your support coordinator is a critical part of your family member’s ability to successfully access and maintain services. For families who want to learn more about their options, The Arc of Essex County hosted a “Meet the Support Coordination Agencies” event in January, and has another scheduled for Tuesday, February 7. The first event on January 25 drew a collection of families from throughout Essex County, and each had a chance to chat with more than a dozen Support Coordination Agencies in attendance. Food and respite care were also available. The second night is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7 from 6 to [...]

Gung Hay Fat Choy! The children in the Stepping Stones School’s Transitional Kindergarten class learned about Lunar New Year traditions and how people celebrate. Students learned how to use monkey drums and marched to festive music. They created scratch-art dragons and paper lanterns during art class, and incorporated the 12 Chinese zodiac animals into their weekly yoga class. On January 27, the children wore red and celebrated with a special lunch, including chicken lo mein, vegetable fried rice, almond cookies, Pocky, and oranges. They ended the day doing a dragon dance, in which they held a 12-foot plastic dragon decoration [...]

When Henry moved into the Terrace Avenue group residence last year, it didn’t take long for him to feel at home and to see his housemates as his extended family. “You get to do activities together, go to the park together, I like it,” Henry says. He particularly loves to help with the laundry, watch TV together in the mornings, and eat “delicious chicken and rice” dinners as a group, he says. Henry moved in to Terrace during the summer of 2022, at which time he also started attending Day Programs at The Arc of Essex County’s West Caldwell Hub. There, he [...]

Children will enjoy a variety of fun activities—and parents can enjoy a stress-free date night—when The Arc of Essex County hosts the next Parents’ Night Out event on Friday, February 24 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Studio Arc in Fairfield. The Parents Night Out program provides drop-off nights where children and teens can participate in arts and crafts, games, and more while mom and dad have some time to recharge. The evening costs $20 per child (costs were offset by generous donations to The Arc of Essex County’s Community Recreation Fund), and includes activities and a pizza dinner. Parents Night Out [...]