Three Moncton brothers with special needs may not be cheering for the same hockey teams during Thursday night’s playoff game, but they have found common ground at the YMCA’s adult day program for people with different abilities.
“It is fun for the people and I have friends and have people come here and we have fun,” said 38-year-old Lawrence Killiam, who has been attending the activity programs for adults with special needs at Moncton’s YMCA with his two brothers for more than 10 years.
Lawrence is a massive Pittsburgh Penguins fan, while his brother Johnny cheers for the Toronto Maple Leafs and his other brother Denis’s heart lies with the Montreal Canadiens. Despite their hockey rivalry, the three brothers can been found four days a week taking part in the adult day program, which is the Y’s longest running community adult day program.
Coordinator Liora Naroditsky said the program has been running for more than 20 years.
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“The goal of the program is to give families an opportunity to have some time to themselves,” Naroditsky explained. “So it is a respite program for them and for the participants who come to the program, they get to enjoy socializing and physical activity.”
In hopes of revitalizing the weekly roster of activities, Naroditsky said she is trying to incorporate more physical activity into the program, since many of her clients don’t get regular exercise at home.
“I will ask them what they did during the week and a lot of them say they have been sitting and watching TV or they say nothing much.”
But, she said, now with the help of fitness trainers at the Y, her clients with special needs are able to socialize with friends and become more active, which also lends to improving their emotional and physical health and longevity.
She said her clients exercise in the pool four days a week, attend yoga classes and regular workouts and physical games in the gym and often train with the Y’s regular fitness staff.
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Families who can’t afford the program, she said, can apply for funding through the YMCA, so that no one who wants to participate is left out.
It’s a place where even the Killiam brothers won’t let hockey get in the way of their friendship and where they can find common ground along with a whole group of their peers.
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