Courtesy photo Heroes members are seen participating in the 2025 4-D 2nd St. Dance Company recital. Heroes partners with 4-D 2nd St. to provide a fun activity for their members to participate in.

ALPENA — Heroes, a local group that assists individuals with special needs and their caregivers, will host an informational meeting to begin the discussion of opening an “activity hub” for individuals who age out of Pied Piper services.

Barb Kowalewsky, Heroes board president, said that the meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the AMAESD building in Alpena. Parents and caregivers of individuals with special needs are invited to attend so as to join the conversation and address the needs of their community.

“It’s just starting a conversation,” Kowalewsky said.

Kowalewsky explained that Pied Piper offers services through AMAESD for special needs individuals until they are 26 years old. Once individuals reach that age, there are not as many opportunities for them to find community and connection outside of AMAESD.

“We recognize there is a deficit,” Kowalesky said. “The board of Heroes, we all have kids who are approaching that age.”

She said she envisions creating an “activity hub” that is separate from Pied Piper and is run by the Heroes organization. In a perfect scenario, she added that the space would offer opportunities for creative activities, learning, and more.

“We are modeling it after other programs in the state,” Kowalesky said.

She explained that there are programs like what the board is envisioning across the state that give special needs individuals opportunities for community, connection, and employment.

“We do not at this moment have anything like that,” she said.

Kowalesky said that the goal of Heroes, and the potential “activity hub,” is to ensure that individuals with special needs can have “as fulfilling of a life as possible.”

One outreach program that Heroes runs is in partnership with 4-D 2nd St. Dance Company where members learn a dance and perform in the studio’s annual dance recital.

She added that Heroe’s “activity hub” program is still in its “conceptual phase” and that the board is “thinking about a lot of things.”

“We are just so early with this,” Kowalesky said. “I don’t know what for sure what it is going to be called.”

She noted how there are only four members on the board and that the Pied Piper school started with 20 parents.

“It took 20 years to get a brick-and-motor location,” she said, referring to Pied Piper School. “We are looking at it for the long-haul.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.