16 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 

camp, Special Needs offers 
year-round social groups, yoga 
classes and Drums Alive fitness 
classes. About 20 JARC homes 
bring residents of all ages to a 
Thursday Night Social Group. 
Even during the pandemic, 
Zoltowski and her team made 
sure their participants stayed 
active.
“We’ve tried to support all of 
our families. All of the parents 
have my cell phone, we have 
a Facebook group; I did some 
Zoom calls with campers who 
were having trouble under-
standing why we couldn’t have 
camp last summer,
” she says.
“We even held a socially 
distant Sunday Funday in my 
backyard last summer, with lots 
of different activities. And we 
have Break Camp coming up in 
March. We try to be a resource 
for families as much as we can.
”
New in 2019, Zoltowski part-
nered with Jewish Senior Life, 
which provided a furnished 
apartment at Meer Apartments 
to help young adults practice 
independent living skills in 
a safe and supervised envi-
ronment. Participants were 
able to practice skills ranging 
from finding their apartment 
to washing clothes, changing 
sheets and preparing food.
“It’s a place where we can go 

to learn to do things hands-on, 
for students of all abilities.
”
In celebration of JDAIM, 
the Special Needs Department 
hosted a virtual and interactive 
Magic Show fundraiser on Feb. 
11 — all participants needed 
was a deck of cards at home to 
participate in some of the magic 
tricks. The show was inter-
spersed with videos of families 
telling how the department has 
benefitted them.
“It was our chance to see our 
families, and have them see us, 
while showing the community 
what we’re all about and high-
lighting what our families and 
our staff love about our pro-
gram.
”

OPENING THE DOORS
Also available through the JCC, 
Opening the Doors (OTD) has 
a mission of providing every 
student the chance to receive a 
fully inclusive Jewish education 
— even during the pandemic. 
This year, 1,200 students ages 
2½-17 are benefitting from it.
To accomplish this, OTD 
provides all 26 Metro Detroit 
Jewish preschools, day schools 
and congregations with master 
special educators, who pro-
vide support to parents, offer 
strategies to teachers and lead 
workshops.

Additionally, OTD offers 
para-educators in early child-
hood classrooms who provide 
short-term intervention for 
high-risk students. OTD 
makes it possible for spe-
cial needs students to be in 
schools with other students 
and siblings. While students 
increase confidence and build 
Jewish identity, barriers are 
broken down between their 
peers, who are then learning 
acceptance, diversity and tol-
erance. And all of this is pro-
vided free of charge.
OTD also provides an enor-
mous variety of programming 
for families, madrichim leader-
ship for religious school teens, 
conferences with speakers, 
workshops and professional 
development open to the com-
munity. Maiseloff often partners 
with community resources such 
as JVS, JARC and Friendship 
Circle, mental health profes-
sionals and more.
During the pandemic, 
Maiseloff and her team are 
working more diligently, know-
ing how difficult this time is for 
some of the students to under-
stand and cope. 
“Since August, at the start of 
the school year, Opening the 
Doors has been proud to have 

the capacity and support to 
continue to provide an array 
of high quality, diversified 
programs and services, in col-
laboration with educational and 
health organizations,
” she says. 
“
Although our number of 
students receiving support 
is lower this year, our 
professional development 
classes have continued. We 
provide educators with more 
strategies to be more effective in 
providing virtual and in-person 
learning as well as resources for 
understanding and supporting 
children with anxiety and/or 
mental health concerns and 
self-care techniques for them. 
Our community-wide disability 
and advocacy conferences, book 
and movie events have also 
continued throughout this year.
”
To celebrate JDAIM, 
Opening the Doors is offering 
a variety of programs in 
February. Programs include 
a Madrichim Leadership 
Training for teens; an 
Enhanced Learning Initiative 
for teachers; speakers including 
authors and disability 
experts and more. For more 
information, visit jccdet.org. 

This story first appeared in 

myjewishdetroit.org.

Young adults practice 
independent living skills 
in a safe and supervised 
environment at Meer 
Apartments in West 
Bloomfield.

LIZZ CARDWELL
LIZZ CARDWELL

Since the 1960s, 
Thursday Night 
Social Group 
has provided a 
wide variety of 
opportunities for 
social interaction 
on and off campus.

continued from page 15
OUR COMMUNITY

