- July 8, 2024
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The Haven is an apt name for an organization that functions as much like a family as it does a facility serving children and adults with disabilities.
The campus on DeSoto road is reminiscent of a summer camp — nestled in the woods with a park, playground, trails and a pool.
“We have 32 acres in the heart of UTC. That’s not a thing anymore,” Chief Operating Officer Alison Thomas said. “We actually own everything, which we’re really proud of because I always say, ‘If you don’t own it, you can’t say that you can keep it for life.’ And one of our biggest things is being able to say, ‘This is your home forever, even when we all pass.’”
The Haven serves children and adults on the same campus and has residential housing, so for many, it becomes a lifelong home. Students graduate rather than aging out.
Friends of The Haven President Kelly Askerud rests a little easier since her 36-year-old daughter Mackenzie Holland moved into one of the group homes in 2016. Holland has epilepsy and an intellectual disability. The Haven campus is only five minutes away from the Braden Woods home Askerud shares with her husband Rick.
“We might not have been ready, but she was ready," Askerud said of Mackenzie moving to The Haven. "From Day One, she loved it. It’s been amazing, not just for Mackenzie, for the whole family. When you have a special needs child, it’s like daycare pick up and drop off, but for 30 years. We, all of a sudden, had freedom and flexibility that we never had. Plus, I felt comfortable that she was safe here.”
Friends of the Haven is a nonprofit started by Askerud and about 20 other parents in 2016 to buy things for their children that wouldn’t get funded otherwise. Members also volunteer around campus and at fundraisers.
In return, the Friends benefit from a network of parents who know things like how to set up a representative payee bank account or apply for a Medicare waiver. They have a direct line to management, too.
When the wood deck where clients eat lunch was recently upgraded with a cement deck, the picnic tables weren’t replaced. Askerud added her voice to the matter.
“I put out a friendly challenge to The Haven board of directors to ‘Deck out the Deck,’ and within 30 days, we had secured enough money to purchase 17 industrial, heavy-duty metal picnic tables, 17 umbrellas and 17 stands,“ Askerud said, “So all the clients are enjoying it every day out there.”
Five board members donated, and the remainder of the $20,000 tab was picked up by the Friends.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friends were up to 70 members, and not just parents — siblings, guardians and community members, too. Virtual meetings were a flop and numbers dwindled. But members were enticed with wine and cheese to attend the May meeting and 40 attended in person.
Askerud took over the role of president again in April. Her goal is to get both membership numbers and involvement back up to where they were before the pandemic.
One major project the group took on pre-pandemic was building Friends Park around the basketball court. They built a deck, put bleachers around the court, installed two bocce courts and supplied grills, picnic tables and garbage cans.
“They created Friends Park, and now, we have the bocce ball Special Olympics Team practicing out here, which is amazing,” Thomas said. “(The Friends) are also willing to help us with things we really need, those things that typically aren’t things that people want to fund, like nap mats. They cost thousands and thousands of dollars that are not in our operational budget, but they were like, ‘We got it. We’ll figure it out.’”
The Friends figure it out because the peace of mind is priceless. Askerud brought four pages worth of questions to that first meeting about Holland’s housing. Holland had already been attending programs at The Haven for five years, but moving in was a much bigger step.
“The best part of her living here is that it’s really her home,” Askerud said. “When she comes home to visit, she’ll say, ‘I’m going to my mom’s house for the weekend.’”
