“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
Quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”
Sunday September 15th 11a - 2pm at the Turtle Back Zoo!! More details to come, but if you're a part of the Eiros Group Family, we would love to have you join us! Save the Date and we will send out more info soon!
Katie's House
As a group of devoted and nurturing parents, we believe those in the Neurodiverse world should be out-n-about in the community enjoying activities and opportunities just like the Neurotypical world. Katie's House, a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization is dedicated to doing just that! Katie’s House provides supportive housing as well as access to a plethora of public events.
Two residents residing in Katie’s House in Newton, Richard and Matt (the newest resident), are hosting an open house, to welcome and support Matt as he transitions into his new home. Richard and Matt enjoy activities in the community like the life skills program at SCC, music concerts, dances and going out for their favorite treats. They also practice those life skills by grocery shopping, preparing dinner and working through their household chores. Just a typical day at Katie's House.
All are invited to this open house to welcome Matt, and to learn more about Katie's House and their support of the Neurodiverse community and how Richard and Matt are being supported to live their best lives.
It would be great to see family and friends support Matt in his new endeavor! Anyone needing additional information regarding the open house on Saturday, June 22, please call:Jean Delgado at (973) 897-8266
Traditions: The Ketubah
At Eiros Group, we value, understand, and connect with a diverse population and respect different cultures and traditions.
Continuing with our newsletter spotlight on family traditions, in this article, we share a beautiful, heartfelt Jewish tradition.
Recently, the Schlitt/Tolins family, an Eiros Group customer, celebrated as their son and brother married the love of his life. Madeline Tolins, mother of the groom, applied her skills as a professional artist and textile designer; to sketch and hand paint a meaningful, decorative border. The first step was to sketch out a design. Once the sketch was decided upon, the intricate work of mixing the exact color choices, and then, slowly and with precision, hand painting the border.
When asked about this honor, Madeline stated “this was something special I could do for Adam and Hilana.”
The idea of a marriage contract may be considered as unromantic and an uncomfortable topic to discuss. However, the ketubah is a sacred and cherished tradition that is an integral part of a Jewish wedding ceremony.
The ketubah represents a marriage contract testifying to the husband’s obligations towards his wife and their life together. It is a document that protects the position of the wife once she has entered the marriage and makes provisions for her in the event of divorce or widowhood. To signify this commitment to his wife, the ketubah is signed by two witnesses during the wedding ceremony, verifying that the conditions set forth by the ketubah have been met by the groom.
Although ketubah designs differ depending on the countries and regions a Jewish couple reside in, the intricate and inspiring artwork infuses the bride and grooms’ personal vision of their love and commitment synonymous with their environment.
With Madeline’s loving design, Adam and Hilana honored a centuries old tradition to reflect their journey together
Jean Marie Hanna
Support Broker
Do you have a question about how support brokerage can help you, someone you know or a loved one in self-directing? Send your questions to
jennb@eiros-group.com and Jenn will answer them!
“Mentoring is a way to help teach others about gentle care giving, to enter into terrifying spaces and teach others to feel safe and loved.” Mentoring is an approach to do this. It is a way to share with others a spirit of gentleness and justice.
A mentor’s role is to define the empty and sometimes violent spaces that exist between caregivers and marginalized individuals in institutions, shelters, homes, prisons, nursing homes, schools and wherever we happen to serve. These places have to be filled up with the caregivers’ faces of affection–their loving touch, warm words, and kind gazes. Caregivers need to stop and reflect on the formation of companionship and community and the role of helping individuals feel safe, engaged, loved and loving. From this foundation, caregivers can then create communities of caring. Mentoring is a process for teaching caregivers to establish companionship and community.
Mentoring is an ever-deepening task that calls for the development of trust among caregivers and the formation of a sense of companionship and community. This trust starts by the Mentor entering into the caregivers’ space with a deep sense of humility and justice and helping each caregiver feel safe and respected. It is the informal coming together of the Mentor and caregiver around the kitchen table and the sharing of the meaning of companionship and community. It is working together and finding ways to teach marginalized people these feelings.”
John McGee
“Mending Broken Hearts: Companionship and Community”
We are all guilty of it... brb, fwiw, btw, lol... condensing words into acronyms. Sometimes they're a great way to get a point across, or describe a topic. However, there are times that acronyms point to specific terms or programs or services and in the DDD world, we are especially guilty of this! In realizing that not everyone in our world will know what we are referring to, we thought we would dial it back a few steps and create an
Acronyms List to help decipher some of those abbreviated terms you may hear. If you have any others you know that you would like to contribute to our growing list, please send us an email!
Info@eiros-group.com.
The list is here -->
Family Memories & Recipes
By Sheldon Schwitek
I grew up in Canada and fall was a time of prepping and preserving food for the long Canadian winter. Winter celebratory meals in my family would not be complete without
both Pierogis and Holopchi (cabbage rolls). I don’t know how these Slavic staples made it into our family culinary lexicon, but they were a staple.
The annual pirogi making was a big event that usually took place on a very cold night in mid-October. My mum would have cooked a huge pot of peeled potatoes and them
with cheese, like cheesy mashed potatoes. As well as preparing the Pierogi dough earlier in the day in preparation. My Mum and Aunt Ruth, along with cousins Brad and
Kurby, my 3 brothers and I would start the assembly line shortly after dinner.
After setting up our workstations, dough cutting, filling and blanching, my aunt would start rolling and cutting out the circular dough on the kitchen island. As each batch was
cut, the rest of us would fill each circle and pinch them closed. Someone else (usually my mum at the start) was at the stove and would add each batch of raw Pierogis to a pot of boiling water, blanching them just long enough for them to magically float to the surface.
The pot watcher would lift them out with a sieve and plop the drained Pierogis on large backing sheets. This is where the real taste test happened, as there are always a few Pierogis that don’t seal completely. These would be fished out immediately and tossed into a frying pan of simmering butter to cook. As the evening wore on, we would all take a break at intervals to sample those “broken” little bundles of goodness.
As each baking sheet filled with a single layer of Pierogis, they would be ferried outside to sit on top of the car to cool and then freeze. The image I still carry to this day is of a car covered with sheet pans for steaming Pierogis in zero-degree temperatures. It looked like a surreal painting as the white clouds of steam rose into the night sky, shadowing the moon and stars as it wafted upward.
Within a couple of hours, the Pierogis would be frozen. My Aunt Ruth and cousin Kurby would already have returned home. My mum and I staying up late to ferry the frozen
morsels into the house, bagging them up and getting them into one of the 2 chest freezers in our basement.
We would eat those Pierogis well into winter. A warm, chewy, cheesy gift of fall smothered in bacon and onions. I don’t know how, but I still believe the hard work, community effort and love made them even more delicious. I can still see that steam
rising every time I bite into one.
The oral tradition of the recipe continues, as I called my mum to get the recipe. I know I have it somewhere in my recipe collection, but it was a nice excuse to reshare those
moments with her.
We had to talk in proportions, as I am not imagining you have 8+ people to help you make these. You can double, triple, or even quintuple this recipe, if you do.
For the dough:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sour cream
A good pinch of salt
Mix and add water a bit at a time to make a soft pliable dough. Let rest for 30 minutes before rolling out and cutting into a circle with a wide mouth canning jar lid.
For the filing
4 large potatoes
1 cup cottage cheese
o You can substitute a cup of grated cheese of your choice.
1+ tbsp of butter (optional)
For the serving
4 slices of slab bacon, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium onion, medium dice.
Peel and dice the potatoes. Cooked, cover with water until soft. Drain and add the remaining ingredients. Mash until they are the consistency of your favorite mashed potatoes. (They don’t have to be a completely smooth consistency)
Once the filling is ready and the dough cut in circles and fill each dough circle with a heaping teaspoon of filling. You don’t want to add too much filling, because you need to wet the edges of the dough with a bit of water on your finger. This will help to seal the dough when you fold the circle in half and pinch the crescent closed all the way around the opening.
From here, you can just boil or fry up the Pierogis, topping them some onions that have been sautéed with bacon.
Otherwise, you can parboil them in steaming water with a little oil added to the top. The oil will prevent them from sticking together when they come out of the water. Then freeze them in a single layer on a sheet or plate and bag them up, once the are completely frozen.
Are you, or someone you know looking for either a way to bring more meaning to their career, or a to join a growing and dynamic group of caring professionals? Then you will want to visit our
Work With Us page on our website! It is updated regularly, and because we are growing, we have a number of open open positions throughout New Jersey!. Want to learn more?
Click here and apply today!
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Summertime, and the living is easy...
Community Mapping: Learning About Where To Go, What To Do, Where To Find Things, and How To Be More Community Minded!
Burlington County/Evesham Township Mapping
Scott, Desiree and Coby
Our community mapping adventure took place in Evesham Township where we drove around searching for places that would be beneficial for Scott as he recently moved into his new apartment. Scott was very helpful and gave us some suggestions on places he felt would match the requested categories.
The biggest highlights we got out of the experience were the large amount of resource boards located within the community with activities and resources that can benefit all. And of course, celebrating Scott’s 50th birthday with his favorite meal at a local pizza shop within walking distance of his apartment. Scott was even able to meet and chat with a few local police officers, they shared about upcoming community events and shared some sweet treats.
The Coyle Family: The Importance of Reconnecting with Family
by Desiree Coyle
Upcoming events throughout NJ
Below are upcoming fun things to do throughout New Jersey! If you are hosting a similar type of event, and would like it included in our newsletter, please send to
info@Eiros-Group.com
*Please allow 2 weeks or more advance notice. Thanks!
