June, 2024

www.tnsneighborhood.com

A few years ago, The Next Stop decided to step out and extend our reach to adults with special needs beyond our onsite program. We would use what we have learned and experienced through our many years of service to this special community, but in a new and unique way. The plan was to create a website for the adult special needs population that would offer stimulating daily activities and engaging events, and provide a platform for connection and interaction through fun weekly Zoom activities. We would call it The Next Stop (TNS) Neighborhood!

Here is a recent blog post in a special needs support blog called Gingkolink describing How The Next Stop and TNS Neighborhood began.

A year ago on May 15, 2023 The Next Stop Neighborhood was soft launched to the members of The Next Stop only.

A year and a half before the soft launch,The Next Stop had begun a huge effort to produce cooking videos to use on TNS Neighborhood site. Members of The Next Stop took turns participating in recipe preparations on camera. They worked alongside Ms. Kathy, The Next Stop's Program Director and Managing Director of TNS Neighborhood.

Time was also spent with continued design and development of the website. Then it became time to begin the process of hiring educational specialists and therapists to create applicable content for the daily activity categories.

When 2023 arrived, our newly hired contractors and TNS Neighborhood were preparing to fill the calendar in the Activity Hub of the site. Beginning in April, 2023 an activity per day was being entered into the website's Activity Hub! It was finally time to soft launch to our members.



November 1, 2023 we began to share the news of TNS Neighborhood to our local contacts and more. With 6 months of content already existing on the site, TNS Neighborhood Team was ready to get the word out so the adult special needs community could begin to enjoy all the Activity Hub had to offer.

The calendar on the site, aka The Activity Hub, is where our "neighbors" go to enjoy something meaningful and productive to do -- whether an independent activity or a LIVE one on Zoom.

Independent activities include printables, themed videos to watch or participate in, playlists and information about different genres of music, slide shows of information or directions, etc. As a whole, all the independent activities are designed to entertain our neighbors and energize their mind.

The LIVE events are designed to do the same....but alongside other neighbors! Meeting currently 3 times a week, the times are varied in an effort to accommodate our neighbors' different schedules. Led by Managing Director Ms. Kathy, this interactive part of the site gives neighbors the opportunity to have conversations with others, play games together, and discuss different topics.

The Next Stop Neighborhood Team is offering this valuable resource to adults with special needs, their caregivers, parents and anyone seeking to provide meaningful activities for an adult (or teen) with special needs.

This is a unique, novel effort to support an underserved population. As a supporter of The Next Stop, we invite you to partner with us as we continue to advocate for adults with special needs. If you know of anyone or family who might benefit from this opportunity, please share this information with them!

The Next Stop Foundation, Inc.

www.thenextstop.org

www.tnsneighborhood.com

404-932-3953