By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Each month, the sound of laughter, conversation and community fill up the fellowship hall of the Refuge Ministries church, as the Jeremiah Collective hosts its monthly Hope Night.
The Jeremiah Collective is a newly formed non-profit organization that was founded to fill a need for the families of adults with special needs, including autism.
During Hope Night, which is held on the fourth Friday of the month, caregivers can choose to stay with their loved one or drop them off for the three hour window of time between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. and know that they will be safe and comfortable and having fun. The evening includes dinner, games and activities, including bingo, along with dancing.
This gives the caregivers the chance to recharge and recuperate for a brief period of time.
Co-founder Shannon Garcia said that her daughter has autism, and after she turned 18, she realized that there was a need for someone to provide services for individuals with autism or other special needs after they age out of the school system, especially in the Coryell County, Bell County and Lampasas County area.
“We just want to kind of model Mission 4031, down in Georgetown, and also BiG [Brookwood in Georgetown], down in Georgetown,” Garcia said, referring to two non-profit organizations focused on providing opportunities and respite care to individuals with special needs and their families. “Kind of model that, and bring that up here, initially with us, the Jeremiah Collective. Noticing that that need was here in the community, kind of bringing it here and just having a night a month where people can just kind of have fellowship, meet, have a good time, as you can hear, and stuff. Even just food: have a nice dinner, games, activities, arts and crafts, stuff like that. But it also allows the parents to have a safe space for their person, and that way they can have a little bit of downtime or have a date night. This is only our second event, but we’re really excited, and it’s already grown since our first one [in July].”
Garcia said one of the long-term goals for the Jeremiah Collective is to eventually set up housing for adults with special needs to help them have a community and be productive members of their community.
“That’s probably one of the biggest concerns and fears as a parent with a child with special needs is what’s going to happen to them? Where are they going to be? What happens if I’m no longer here, and I can’t be there to care for them and protect them?” Garcia said.
The Jeremiah Collective is always in need of volunteers to help at these monthly nights, as well as help with fundraising, donations and more.
Garcia said that the Jeremiah Collective would love to partner with local businesses who would like to sponsor their monthly nights and help out.
Those interested in doing so can reach out to Garcia through the Jeremiah Collective Facebook page or by email at sgarciatjc@outlook.com
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.