Group seeks to help children with special needs transition into adulthood

CLAYTON — Being the parent of a child with special needs is a daunting task. There are programs, however, in place to help those children develop and reach their fullest potential.

But what happens when those children become adults? How can their families access resources to ease that transition? A Clayton man dealing with those same questions is trying to help others in the similar situations find the answers.

Jeff Holland is an educator and the father of two children, Christopher and Ben, with special needs.

“There is no source for these folks,” he said. “I call them ‘the hidden.’ They’re out there, but you don’t know they’re there. There’s no standard place to go and even start asking (questions). “I had learned about a group that had formed up in Chapel Hill, and they were tackling issues about residential placement for kids. I thought ‘what a unique idea.’ I see things like the Autism Society of North Carolina’s Johnston County chapter … but I didn’t see anything that helps parents learn about these issues that involve transitioning into adulthood.”

To fill that gap, Holland helped start a group, Parents of Adult Children in Transition (PACT). Through an email list and a series of monthly meetings at The Church at Clayton Crossings, the group can share experiences and resources to help one another.

“When people come together, they’ve already discovered things you haven’t discovered,” he said. “I think one of the nicest things to hear is when people leave the meetings, they’ve carried away information that was new to them. And they’re constantly sending things my way or adding to the group. “All these people are coming who haven’t walked this way yet. I love learning what they know that I don’t know. It’s the whole idea of us being a resource to one another.”

PACT began meeting in May, covering topics like “Can My Child Live in His/Her Own Home,” “Navigating Group Homes,” guardianship, special needs’ trusts and educational options at Johnston Community College.

In addition to sharing information, the group has an even larger goal in mind. The idea is called an intentional community, and it’s a natural extension of the sense of sharing and community PACT already produces.

“It’s a community that’s designed with a special population in mind, and they’re springing up all over the country,” he said. “There’s one in Phoenix, Dallas, Maryland and I’m seeing two or three in North Carolina that are in some sort of stages.”

Holland’s vision for a local version of an intentional community would feature 20-30 homes, all designed for people with some sort of special need. It would feature green spaces for exercise or gardening, a community center which would act as the hub and center of the neighborhood and a fence around the perimeter to control traffic in and out of the area.

Holland also stresses the need for it to be affordable to would-be residents.

“I think this could be a tremendous blessing as it develops and comes to be,” he said. “I’m seeing a healthy number of people come together at these meetings and there’s a core of people who really love this idea and the idea that their child could be a part of this.”

PACT meets the second Monday of each month at The Church at Clayton Crossings from 6-8 p.m. To learn more, contact Jeff Holland at hollandjeff@yahoo.com.