FROM THE DIRECTOR

Happy Fall! I know this is a favorite season for many, myself included! At HLC, fall brings a new session and this year we have launched three groups where we are serving 18 students on a weekly basis. Along with Anne Hughes and I leading groups and Tyler helping as he is able, Ed and Kelly White have stepped in the help with Group 3. Kelly serves on our Board and we are grateful for their continued support of our program.

Our Hope Grows fundraiser from the summer raised just over $7,000! These funds went directly to the Hope Fund which provides tuition assistance to families. Through generous donors to our General Fund, we are able to start the expansion project in the next couple of weeks. The new space will not only have more square footage but will also have a sensory area, needed storage, and allow us to hold workshops and other activities for our students, parents, and the community.

We have a need to raise more funding for this project. We plan to solicit donations for materials and will need to furnish the space. If you would like to contribute or know of others who would like to support this endeavor either financially or through tangible items, please visit our website and click on the DONATE tab. We are grateful for those supporting us as we serve these incredible young adults!

Marie Haney

SKILLS: Team Building

For much of September our students were involved in a variety of team building activities to help them be more comfortable with each other, work on communication skills and have fun! Friendship development is an important foundational skill as the students work on other goals and skills for the college or career transition. Developing healthy and trusting relationships is a value at HLC. We hold bi-weekly socials with the students as well as offer open hours where students can just come and enjoy an unstructured evening with their friends in a safe and accepting environment.

SUMMER PROGRAM RECAP

Our summer programming provides opportunities for the students to stay connected, try new social activities and have some more in-depth classes. A high-light for the students was a night of archery at Clover Leaf Archery Club in Milford. The club members were great with our students as they taught them the basics of archery and worked with each student throughout the night to perfect their shooting. The students enjoyed it so much that they asked if we could have a small archery area on the property of HLC! If anyone is interested in helping us with this area or donating some equipment, please reach out to us.