For most adults with autism in the Centre Region, programs and support pretty much dry up after they graduate from high school.
Sure, the Special Olympics in the summer provides an opportunity for recreation and competition. Others may find part-time jobs with employers who provide job programs to special-needs individuals.
Many, unfortunately, will enter into a lifestyle of isolation and never have the opportunity to share the talents that may lie within.
A new startup nonprofit organization is looking to change that, and offer adults with autism opportunities for socialization, recreation and job training. Through innovative programs, the ACRES (Adults Creating Residential and Employment Solutions) Project matches the passions and skills of people with autism with meaningful living and working opportunities that make them strong contributors to the community.
‘Making the transition to adult living is a very difficult thing for people with autism,’ said Cathy Prosek, secretary/treasurer with the ACRES Project. ‘We want to make that transition as smooth and easy as possible, and do it in a way that encourages continued progress as contributing members of the community. It’s a project that’s been really in the works since the 1990s.’
Prosek has a special interest in the ACRES Project. Being the parent of a 40-year-old son with intellectual disabilities, Matthew, she has experienced firsthand the lack of support services for adults with autism.
‘It has been very difficult for us to find programs for autistic people,’ said Prosek. ‘After high school, it just seemed there was little, if any, support out there. I thought there would be, as there seems to be support for everything else. Unfortunately, though, there just isn’t anything available to these individuals.’
Prosek explained the idea of the ACRES Project initiated at the Special Olympics held on the Penn State campus in 2014. She said there, she was talking to a young mother who just learned her autistic son had a terminal form of cancer. Prosek said the woman was concerned about what would happen now that he completed his high school years and was moving into adulthood.
‘She was very scared, and very worried,’ said Prosek. ‘I wished there was something I could do, but there wasn’t. I felt helpless, so I could only imagine how she felt.’
The work began on the project, which actually took root many years before when Prosek’s longtime friend and special education teacher with the State College Area School District, Belle Bergar, had the vision of such a group while teaching in the 1990s.
‘I was always blown away with what she did for our students,’ said Prosek, noting her son was under the tutelage of Bergar during his time at SCASD. ‘I’d walk into her classroom and see physics problems written out on the blackboard. Remember, she was instructing students with intellectual disabilities, but she wasn’t just teaching … she was educating. She was preparing these young adults for the lives that were ahead of them.’
Bergar and Prosek teamed up to form the ACRES Project, and immediately firmed up 501c3 nonprofit status. The duo then began putting together a circle of community members with a wide variety of professional skills to provide a unique residential community that fosters independence, self-advocacy and work/life skills for adults with autism.
Since its inception, the ACRES Project has been working to bring awareness to the challenge of living with autism by connecting with a variety of businesses and service organizations, along with the educational community.
Last month, the group entered into a lease-to-buy agreement with Action 4 Autism for the property along Bernel Road in Patton Township formerly known as the Second Mile Group Home. It is this 2-acre parcel that the ACRES Project will call home.
‘We were searching for a place for two years, and thanks to Adam Fernsler and Frank Peno (partners in Action 4 Autism) we were able to sign a lease and we’re about ready to move in,’ said Prosek. She explained Fernsler, who also has a child with intellectual disabilities, and Peno began the LLC known as Action 4 Autism for the sole purpose of acquiring the property and continuing support of the adult autistic population in the Centre Region. ‘These guys have gone above and beyond in this project. We owe them an awful lot.’
Also in December, the group was able to secure $33,000 in donations from Decibel Partners LP, Peter Chiarkas and an anonymous donor. Becca Silver has been named as the program director and has been working with Bergar, the group’s executive director, writing the curriculum and programs for the project.
According to Prosek, the new facility will officially open this spring; however, she noted there is still work to be done. The group is seeking volunteers to help clean, paint and do general repairs at the 3,000-square-foot facility. Once the facility is prepped, the furnishings will then be placed. Prosek said thanks to a generous donation through the Kathy Porteus estate, the group was able to secure all the needed furnishings for the facility, and have placed these items in storage until the building is complete.
‘We’ve also been busy writing grants, seeking funding and, of course, spreading the word about our group and what we want to do,’ said Prosek. ‘And, we have plans already to add a greenhouse to house vocational training in aquaponics. There are a lot of really neat things planned. It’s definitely going to make a difference.’
For more information, or to volunteer or donate to the group, email theacresproject@gmail.com.
