Dear Friend,
At the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis, NEXT for AUTSM pivoted quickly and launched a Relief Fund to address the immediate needs of individuals and families living with autism across various states. We wanted to ease the disruption and pain points felt in our community.
Your overwhelming response enabled the Relief Fund to support essential services, skills preservation for individuals cut off from therapies, and immediate access to technology.
Thank you to all of you – our community – for coming together during uncertain times.
The NEXT for AUTISM Relief Fund:
• Supported Autism Safety Training toolboxes with materials in Spanish to enable Spanish-speaking families to access information about navigating safety issues in their native language
• Provided personal protective equipment to front line service providers, who continued to care for adults with disabilities living on their own and quarantined from their families
• Supplied mobile technology in short order to adults with autism, enabling them to continue to receive job and life skills coaching remotely
• Mentored employed young adults on the spectrum to practice COVID19-related health and safety guidelines in order to manage anxieties and avoid job disruption
• Provided additional instructional supports to students and families as they navigated a period of remote education
• Enabled young adults on the spectrum to participate in TECH camp and learn to thrive in this new virtual reality and live as independently as possible.
We are truly humbled by the outpouring of kindness we have received and grateful for the impact that you chose to make on the autism community.
It’s true that if we each do a little, we can together achieve a lot. Much like the fireflies we see in summer, who come together and synchronize to light the night, the collective impact of our supporters has been a bright moment during these uncertain times.
With sincere gratitude,
Gillian Leek
Senior Vice President, Operations
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