I’ve toured a lot of facilities developed to support individuals with various disabilities. I assumed Friendship Circle would be similar.
I was wrong.
I was immediately awestruck by the amount of thought and love they put into the design of every single room.
But there was one room that stood out to me more than any other.
As we stepped into an open bathroom and shower area, I immediately noticed beautiful paintings all over the ceiling and walls creating a soothing aquarium scene. Then Bassie, the co-founder of Friendship Circle, described the room’s purpose. This room was designed so children could learn and experience all the sensory inputs a thunderstorm could bring. You see, thunderstorms can be incredibly troubling for a child with a disability. The lights suddenly went down and began to flicker, the rain started to fall, and the thunder rumbled so loudly that it shook the room.
They built a complete experience to help families of children with disabilities learn to deal with an inevitable part of life that causes so much stress and strain. I walked out of that room trying to hold back the tears.
It wasn’t the aesthetics of this one room that brought me to tears.
It was that someone had enough love for families like mine that they put this much time, effort, and money into something that will help so many with something most families take for granted. The rest of the facility proved to be designed with the same light of love, thought, and friendship.
Detroit Mom is partnering with Friendship Circle to bring you a series showing exactly what they have to offer Metro Detroit families that have someone with a disability in them.
I am honored to be working with them. My Benny and I will be bringing you live coverage from many of their events to give you an inside look into exactly how amazing they are. We will be spending time at their summer camp, the upcoming Walk4Friendship, and so much more!
