Exceptional program for exceptional young adults | Faith Matters – NJ.com

At the Felician Over 21 Program in Lodi, the clients visit the retired Felician Sisters down the road. So I asked Jill, 30, who is her favorite sister and she said, “Sister Felicia.” Except Sister Felicia is not retired but a member of the Over 21 staff. Then Jill paused and said with a smile, “Sister Charlotte. She’s nice and pretty.”

Visiting this incredible program for adults with special needs at the spacious Boys & Girls Club of Lodi, you can smile the whole time. The clients are friendly and kind and want to come and shake your hand and introduce themselves.

“I love being with clients, the most generous people you would ever meet,” said Sister Felicia Brodowski of Jersey City, who would be familiar to Hudson County residents as the longtime principal of the famed but now shuttered St. Anthony High School. She is a volunteer teacher’s assistant in the program.

It’s obvious the 71 young adults from Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Morris counties like attending this program weekdays for 215 days of the year; they’re off the whole month of August. There is so much to do every day. In the mornings, they may learn based on their level of cognition. And they are taught life skills. There is a huge mock apartment where they learn to use the kitchen, make beds, hang up clothes and be independent.

In the afternoon, there are as many as 25 to 30 activities a week. Some are at the club; others are outside, like going down the road to the campus of Felician University where the retired sisters live. And also to Immaculate Conception High School, where they serve in the cafeteria.

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But it’s not all work. They also go to community theater, shopping, sightseeing and sporting events.

On site, the activities stress socialization and fun. During my visit, one group was playing “Name that Tune. ” Another group was doing art weaving. They even have their own version of “Jeopardy!”

They also use the pool and gym for athletic events like soccer, basketball and kickball.

Thomas, 28, from Kearny, says, “It’s all great fun.” His favorites are swimming, bowling, sports and cooking.

He is one of the first four clients to attend the program, which started in 2011. He graduated from the Felician School for Exceptional Children, which is on the Felician University campus.

Dana Regan, a former teacher at this school, left to raise a family. The school’s director invited her to start the Over 21 program, which was originally located in a basement room of the sisters’ convent. Soon, that space was inadequate for the growing program and they moved into the Boys and Girls Club a half-mile away in 2015. It was empty during the day and was ideal for their needs.

“It was a win-win situation,” Regan said.

The students cope with many issues, like communication skills, autism and Down syndrome. There just happen to be 21 staff members.

One woman walked up to me and asked my birth date. She then said this year it’s on a Friday. She has Asperger’s and is a whiz at dates and numbers.

The Felician order of Sisters runs the program and there is a board of trustees. Brodowski is the only sister left at the program.

“You can’t help but smile when you look at their beauty,” Regan said of the participants. “They want to be here.”

The need for such a program is tremendous, according to the parents and families of the clients. It can still accept more clients.

I was both moved and touched by the good that I witnessed at Over 21. It was big. And it was also Big Hat Day and there were a variety of fancy and fanciful hats on the clients. But was I ever surprised to receive my very own black cap with green, blue and gold embroidery that reads, “21 & OVER.”

The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030, FAX: 201-659-5833; Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.

Details …

Felician 21 & Over Program is located in the Lodi Boys & Girls Club, 460 Passaic Ave., Lodi, NJ 07644. For information, call 862-225-9081.