"She’s coming home,” says Pattie Fried, reflecting on her daughter Rachel’s move to Spruce House, a brand-new, ADA accessible apartment building on South Park Street in Hanover. Pattie and her husband Toby Fried, former owners of Lou’s Bakery & Café, are both excited and relieved for Rachel to have the independence of her own apartment with support from Visions for Creative Housing Solutions (Visions) in the heart of Hanover.

“Rachel grew up in Hanover,” Pattie says. “She would walk to Lou’s after school and built her own network of support among the shopkeepers along Main Street: at Traditionally Trendy, Main Street Kitchens, the great guy in the poster/DVD shop. She’s just bopped around that town her whole life!”

Rachel’s new home was made possible when the property originally known as the Blue Spruce Inn and then Outreach House, which provided housing for seniors, was gifted to Visions. Rachel fondly remembers volunteering at Outreach House as a high school student.

“I played games with them, like bingo,” recalls Rachel. “I would pull the number and help if they weren’t able to find their spot. I have a huge heart for the elderly,” she says. “They are the ones who tell us about history and their stories, and I always love hearing them.”

In addition to enjoying the company of seniors, Rachel has always loved to sing and dance. “I think it was my second time there,” Rachel remembers, “one woman really reminded me of my Nana. She played piano and I would sing. She had a similar body build to my Nana and her spirit and energy were so familiar.” It was a connection that Rachel will always remember when she thinks of Outreach House, and the place she can now call home.

 

 

 

Filling a Need

A total of 12 adults with disabilities now call Spruce House home, thanks to the efforts of Visions, a nonprofit founded in Enfield just 10 years ago by parents of adult children with disabilities. “When I think about how far we’ve come, I have to pinch myself,” says founding Executive Director Sylvia Dow, mother of two daughters with developmental disabilities who live at Visions’ Enfield location. “The number of people who reach out for services or express interest in replicating what we do here in the Upper Valley is truly humbling,” she continues. “There is so much need throughout our region and the entire country.”

Bobbi Gross, whose two sons Jason and Kevin share an accessible apartment at Spruce House, had three children, all with a rare medical condition called familial dysautonomia (FD). Bobbi is clearly proud when she speaks about her children. Jason and Kevin both pursued their education after high school and Kevin completed his undergraduate degree. Her daughter Lisa, Kevin’s twin, wrote a book about FD before she died at the age of 35.

“I first met Sylvia when her daughters were infants and toddlers, over 30 years ago,” says Bobbi. “We kept in touch over the years. Eventually, Sylvia founded Visions and I thought it was just wonderful.”

Bobbi moved to New Hampshire in 1977 when her husband Bob, a molecular biologist, joined the faculty at Dartmouth College, where he spent the next 37 years. Bobbi was a junior high math teacher until their son Jason was born in 1975. “I didn’t go back to work initially,” says Bobbi. “When we moved here, Jason had just turned two and he had physical delays. He couldn’t sit up, couldn’t crawl, and that was before early intervention programs. We got him enrolled in the Model program where he learned sign language, which was very helpful. Just having a few words to express himself cut down on his frustration significantly. He also received OT and PT. By the time Jason was four he was crawling. And once he was able to speak, he was much happier. He didn’t start to walk until he was five, yet by the time he was 12 he was downhill skiing at the Ascutney program!”

 

A Force for Advocacy and Inclusion

When anyone who knows Bobbi speaks of her, they immediately mention what a significant force she has been in advocacy and the creation of services for people with disabilities in the Upper Valley and throughout the state. “When we moved here, Public Law 94-142 (a 1975 law requiring schools to accommodate students with disabilities) was just being implemented, but not fully yet,” Bobbi remembers. “The state school didn’t close until 1991, but the community action movement started in the 1980s along with the idea of family support councils and our Upper Valley Support Group for Parents of Children with Special Needs.”

Anyone interested in the history of advocacy for inclusion of people with disabilities in our region need only connect with Bobbi to get a sense of that rich history and the singular determination of parents that led to where we are today. Similar determination was behind the founding of Visions in 2014, its growth over the past 10 years, and the creation of Spruce House here in Hanover. Sylvia Dow now looks forward to encouraging others to develop similar housing options.

Bobbi, soon to be 77, says, “I look forward to knowing that as I age, Jason and Kevin have a wonderful place to live with friends and activities and in the community where they grew up. That peace of mind is just so special.” To learn more about
Visions, visit www.visionsnh.org.

 

Visions for Creative Housing Solutions

8 Sunrise Farm Lane

Enfield, NH

(603) 632-7707

www.visionsnh.org