22 | MARCH 21 • 2024
J
N
F
or more than 50 years,
Thursday nights have
had Thursday Night
Social Group (TNSG) on the
calendar for Julie Charron of
Bloomfield Hills. She’s one
of a number of participants
from around Metro Detroit
who come together with
volunteers and caregivers to
relax, take part in activities
and have fun with friends at
the twice-monthly events.
“I like to socialize with
other people and get to
them and make friends,”
Charron says. “I really like
bingo and hot chocolate
night the most.”
The J’s
Thursday
Night Social
Group started
in Downtown
Detroit and
migrated to West
Bloomfield, says
Stephanie Zoltowski-Siordia,
Psy.D., director of special
needs enrichment at The J.
The group provides social
opportunities for young
adults and adults with spe-
cial needs to interact with
some of their friends and
to make new friends while
parents and other caregivers
take a break.
Some participants come
from group homes; others
are families involved in the
summer camp program, she
says. And at this point, she
says, given the program’s
longevity, many of them are
adults who have grown up
with the social group since
they were kids.
Before the pandemic,
events could see 40-45 peo-
ple join, whereas now they
draw more like 15-20, she
says. They do hot chocolate
bars, bingo nights, pizza
parties and Purim parties,
mostly these days at The J.
“We want [participants]
to have a sense of belonging,
that they have a group that’s
just for them, that they’re
going to feel normal, and it’s
something that is familiar
to them,” Zoltowski-Siordia
says. “Familiar faces, famil-
iar activities, and just let
them feel like anybody else
Stephanie
Zoltowski-
Siordia
The J’s Thursday Night
Social Group is twice-monthly
fun for participants.
Thank God
it’s
KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
Jonathan
Horton
Social group is open for individuals 16
and older with special needs; every event
has a wide variety of ages and abilities.
Many of TNSG’s participants have
been attending events for decades.
Happy Hour & Games is one of
the most popular events.
Some participants at social group events also attend
The J’s summer camps held in West Bloomfield. Thursday