Six agencies have been working for more than a year to organize an upcoming Shabbaton for children and young adults with special needs, and their families.
The Shabbaton – under the auspices of DANI (Developing and Nurturing Independence); the Friendship Circle (affiliated with Chabad); Jewish Family & Child; Reena; Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities; and Zareinu – will take place at the Salvation Army Camp at Jackson’s Point, an hour north of Toronto, from Oct. 8 to 10.
“We felt that it’s really important for our families to have the opportunity to get together and to have a Shabbos experience together,” said Arlene Margolese, Reena’s manager of faith and cultural services, and of volunteer services.
“We have people from every denomination,” she said. “The idea is that they will have a spiritual experience, and the opportunity to get together and relax… We felt the families would enjoy the opportunity to experience the warmth of Shabbat.”
The facility is wheelchair accessible and can accommodate up to 100 people, said Susie Sokol, co-founder of DANI.
Both Margolese and Sokol described the venue with superlatives: amazing and fabulous. “Everything is well kept,” said Margolese, “and the grounds are gorgeous.”
To the best of their knowledge, the weekend is the first of its kind in Canada.
Yachad has been running them in New York, however, for more than 20 years, said Galya Ouanounou, Yachad’s program director in Toronto.
“It’s an unbelievable experience,” she said of the New York Shabbaton that she attended. “Parents told me they’re not even involved with Yachad, but this is the one event they go to. It gives them so much support and knowledge… Everyone comes from different backgrounds. Their children are all different. I think they learn to appreciate their situation, and feel that they’re not alone.”
The weekend will include kosher meals and services, and programming for the children, as well as for their siblings.
A Saturday night program will feature live music and pizza for the kids, while parents will address the topic, “Ya gotta have a sense of humour!” over a marshmallow roast.
Speakers include New York-based psychologists Jeff and Helen Lichtman, and Nina and Rabbi Mordechai Glick, of Montreal. Rabbi Glick is also a psychologist, and – with his wife – a founder of Maison Shalom in Montreal, a group home for adults with special needs. Their daughter Naama was among its first residents. Jeff Lichtman is the national director of Yachad in the United States.
The cost of the weekend – which is subsidized through a grant from UJA Federation of Greater Toronto – is $75 per person.
For further information or to register, email [email protected] or call 647-889-7164.
