A Community Thrives 2021 Build a new world.

If there is one thing that we all have learned during the pandemic is how our social lives impact our health and wellbeing.  We all understand better now how isolation and loneliness weigh us down and contribute to boredom and depression.  

Many older adults are looking for new lives and new connections in the years when the children are raised and moved away, have either begun retirement or it is just around the corner.  Many of our older adults are ready for new opportunities to learn something new, do meaningful things and do it on their own terms.  They are ready to be good neighbors and meet good neighbors.

Our adults with autism have so much potential and yet are very at risk for homelessness because of their autism.  It is not enough to be a kind neighbor, it is important to learn about autism and understand each individual with autism.  There is a saying in autism circles, "If you know a person with autism you know ONE person with autism."  Each person with autism is unique in communication style, sensitivities and preferences.  Each of these can create vulnerabilities that most of us would not instinctively recognize.  I will tell you this real story that I retell a lot because it shows so the vulnerability from the autism communication challenge.

Tim, (not his real name), was 28 years old had a job and had been living in his own apartment for people with disabilities for three years when he was arrested for cutting the cords on the vacuum cleaners in his apartment building for the second time.

Autism is different in each person but it is described as affecting social engagement and communication as well as hypersensitivities to almost any of our sensations that we can experience.  

For those of us with a loved one with autism we immediately ask, "Why did this happen a second time?"   Tim was most likely sensitive to the noise of the vacuum cleaner.  This is a common sensitivity for people both with and without autism.   We would have tried to work something out.  Maybe we could vacuum when Tim is at work.  Maybe we could warn Tim to put on a headset to block the noise when we needed to vacuum.  The solution required understanding autism and the motivation to keep Tim comfortable.

Tim likely will never have the communication skills to self advocate.  This would require the social understanding of the management structure of whom to go to and organizing thoughts and negotiating solutions.  Most people with autism will not achieve this kind of skill even with coaching.  

Tim's parents accompanied him to court dreading the possible outcomes.  Incarceration is a worst case scenario and happens all too often for these sensitive individuals, most of whom really don't understand at all what is happening.

Fortunately for Tim the judge recognized that he was not competent and dismissed the charges.

Unfortunately Tim was evicted from his housing.

Did you know that it is estimated that 30 to 40% of homeless people have intellectual or developmental disabilities?   

It is complicated to keep a roof over one's head even when one has no disabilities.

Tim's parents arranged new housing and got him situated.  Change is traumatic for most people with autism, so even transitioning to new housing is a big stressor for many people with autism.

Tim's parents won't live forever.

What if we could have a neighborhood of advocates?  What if we could help neighbors know one another and be there for one another?  Can you imagine the rich bonds that could be nurtured where none existed before?  Can you imagine how this neighborhood could create new ways to support the greatest independence of each individual?

The  community model we are interpreting is the multiple award winning Treehouse Community in Easthampton MA.  They have brought together older adults with  families adopting children who have experienced foster care.

The model is three main parts working together, the housing authority (developer, builder, management all in one), Treehouse staff, and state department of family services working together to successfully support the families and children in fostering long term relationships.  They leverage existing services as needed and work as a team for the success of the children.

We see this partnership concept as an essential piece of successful community building for our more vulnerable community members.  We see the need for a local community center for social activities that accommodate autism and aging, while providing appropriate educational opportunities for autism and healthy aging.  Outreach to both the aging adults and adults with autism or intellectual disabilities is part of the long term plan. 

We expect duplication of this model once we have it up and running.  We have tested the concepts with older adults, families and individuals with autism and housing groups who have responded enthusiastically "yes"  in support of this model.