Special Needs Adult Pals
SNAP
SNAP is a weekly dinner and gathering for adults with special needs. SNAP meets on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8:30 at the GYS Field House, 680 Greenwood Ave in Glencoe.
YAP (Young Adult Pals) is a similar group for students age 15–22 with special needs. YAP meets on alternate Thursdays.
Why SNAP?
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Develop meaningful friendships.
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Increase social growth.
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Experience positive social interactions to decrease fears and increase trust.
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Learn effective social skills to enhance communication, empathy, rapport, interpersonal problem-solving and accountability by having fun!
Every SNAP meeting starts with a warm, healthy dinner provided by generous donors (including religious organizations, non-profits, and individual families).
At the beginning of every month, the group votes on programming for each Tuesday of the month.
Popular activities include: bingo, karaoke, Uno, and movies. Once a month, we have a special guest speaker come in and teach topics such as healthy eating, available community resources, and more! We also do community outings to movie theaters, restaurants, arcades and more!
Ways to Help
Sign up here to provide a warm and delicious dinner any Tuesday of the month. Dinner can be homemade or purchased from a restaurant. A typical dinner feeds 25 people. Our participants would be grateful!
Do you have a talent that you or a family member would like to share? SNAP loves to have people come by to perform, demonstrate a skill or craft, or lead a service activity. Please email the GYS Director if you would like to learn more.
SNAP History
The Special Needs Adult Pals group began in the early 1990's as a service similar to the local high school drop-in centers for students who had graduated from high school, but did not follow the traditional track of going away to college.
Shortly after it began, it was realized that the people who used the program the most — and expressing the greatest need — were people facing some type of disability. It was then, that the program began to change the focus of the program to have a greater emphasis on serving the needs of these young people.
Since the inception of SNAP, Glencoe Youth Services (GYS) has been an important ally for the program. While GYS was not the original sponsors of the program, the GYS staff at the time helped to develop the program, and GYS has always provided YAP the use of its building.
In 2007 SNAP was to be disbanded when the organization who had started it had chosen to drop the program.
In response to the request by many of the long time participants and New Trier Township, GYS became the official sponsors of YAP on April 1, 2008, incorporating it into our organization.
