The Haven GTX, a new nonprofit, is giving adults with intellectual disabilities a place to learn, socialize and stay active through a five-day-a-week life enrichment program offered at First Presbyterian Church.
The tuition-based program was started by Randy and Cindy Smith, who have a 28-year-old son with a disability named Cole. The Smiths have designed the program alongside Executive Director Ivonne Rodriguez to stimulate the mind, body and soul of each Friend who enters the door. Rodriguez has more than 30 years of experience working with adults with disabilities.
Days at Haven GTX include worship, fitness classes, music, sign language, cooking, reading, various art classes and special guest programming. Activities are broken up into 30- to 45-minute blocks to accommodate the short attention spans of their clients — which they call Friends.
In Texas, adults with significant intellectual disabilities can attend public school until age 22. After this point, many are left with nothing to do during the day.
“All of a sudden, it is the parent’s responsibility to figure out what their child is going to do,” Ms. Smith said. “Regardless of whether they work or not, the question is: ‘What can I do for my child to make it so that they have a meaningful and purposeful life?’
“We just felt like for Cole, we wanted him to have a program that was all about the mind, the body, and the soul.”
Ms. Rodriguez organizes staff and volunteers with different passions to teach the Friends about what they love. So far, they have received visits from chefs, musicians and dancers. They are currently looking for more passionate people to come and present. The Haven GTX is also looking for people to come and be Buddies during activities. This includes repeating instructions and assisting Friends when needed.
Ms. Smith said there are many beautiful things about people with disabilities, one of these being unconditional positive regard.
“If you are kind to them,” Ms. Smith said, “they're gonna love you right away,”
Ms. Rodriguez was the coordinator for the Special Needs Advisory Coalition in Palm Beach, Florida. She also started Cornerstone Ranch, a Texas program for adults with disabilities in McKinney.
“I got to have the opportunity to learn [from] visiting many programs, and most of the time the programs happen all in the same room, with activities that last a very long time,” she said.
She observed people getting frustrated when struggling with one activity for too long.
“I know for some people those programs work, but for me, I thought like if we do shorter times, their attention will be more easily captured, and they would be more engaged,” she explained.
For instance, some Friends enjoy the repetitive activity that comes along with knitting with a loom. However, others struggle with fine motor skills, and 45 minutes of the activity is more than enough for them.
Cole’s favorite time of the day is when he gets to move his body. When asked what he enjoyed about the fitness class, Cole said, “Red scarves, and weights, and water.”
“He drinks a lot of water,” Ms. Rodriguez explained.
Another highlight of the day for Friends is reading. Each day, they are read a chapter from a book. They recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web. Discussion questions about the book included how they would feel about a pig living in their house.
“We are not doing books that are very complicated, but we also don't want to do picture books like if they were like little kids,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “Now we're doing the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They are loving it.”
The Haven GTX has programming Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Friends have the option of attending two, three or five days per week.
“Every single one of our Friends are happy to come in, and they’re happy when they leave,” Ms. Smith said. “I mean, I have never been more proud of anything that I've done in my life.”
Visit The Haven GTX website to learn more, or to apply to be a volunteer. Those interested can also call 512-943-7049.