Sacred Ground devoted to serving those who need it

Sacred Ground  devoted to serving those who need it
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Teacher Martha Yoder works with Linsey Keim and Brittany Miller in the kitchen. Sacred Ground has plenty of opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to spread their wings and learn while having fun.

                        

When Moses walked into the wilderness and met God in the form of a burning bush, he received God’s message to care for the Israelite flock.

Thus when it came time to develop a name for a new organization that cared for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities that was based on faith, the choice for the board was easy.

Sacred Ground was recently created with a mission to cultivate an environment of belonging and purpose for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It also was designed to provide respite for family members who might need some down time from providing constant care for members with disabilities.

The idea for this endeavor began several years ago, but the purpose in what its board hoped to develop never wavered.

“This started as a conversation back in 2017,” said executive director Griffin Long, who worked as a clinical team leader at Springhaven for nearly eight years. “I was talking with one of our founders, Annie Slabach, and she was describing the type of place she longed for to aid a family member of hers. She had visited places out of state and was expressing how great it would be to have something like that in our area. There was a common thread that there was a desire for more, and that feeling was shared by many in our community.”

Coincidentally, Long had always dreamed of creating a haven to provide the very details Slabach was describing to him.

"We want to be the hands and feet of Christ through this ministry, where we create an environment where everyone can thrive," Long said, "not just our participants, but our families."

Kathy Dickson and Karen Keim joined in the crusade, and the four became board members whose hearts were set on creating a faith-based space that was focused on cultivating a culture of belonging and purpose for people with special needs and their families.

A community-needs assessment was completed in 2020, where four primary needs arose. First, people wanted a faith-based service, specifically adult daycare services.

“If you compare Holmes County to surrounding counties, there are far fewer options for adult care services,” Long said. “I think the community is longing for faith-based services like this, and there has been a lot of energy and excitement about providing to meet those needs.”

Other needs that arose from the assessment were socialization, respite care and transportation. Sacred Ground set about to meet all those needs.

“We want to address those needs in our adult daycare program,” Long said. “We want to prioritize those types of opportunities to help people grow together through this experience.”

Participants can come to Sacred Ground from one to five days per week. Long said one-day participants would be more along the line of respite care while those coming more would benefit in socialization, all of it coming with a faith basis.

Days at Sacred Ground include programs that are fun, educational and based on individuals’ interests and goals.

“Every person has gifts and strengths, and one of the things we want to do is bring out the gifts of our participants,” Long said.

Long went on to say their programs will provide the highest quality of service, saying loving care will be a commitment and they will find ways to help everyone contribute in their communities.

Long said Brad Vincent, retired CEO of Sifrin Inc., is the board president while Marlin Miller, publisher of Plain Values, serves as the vice president. Matt Troyer, director of finances at Keim, is the treasurer, and Michelle Mishler, intervention specialist in East Holmes Schools, is the secretary. Long said all are heavily invested.

“All of our board members are passionate about what we are trying to do,” Long said.

In developing the organization, Long said they brought on Martha Yoder as a staff person, who had been desiring to work in this type of atmosphere.

“I have some cousins with special needs, and I loved working with them and connecting with them, so this was a field I’ve always felt led to,” Yoder said. “I truly felt called here.”

Long said the staff is highly trained and continues to add training to provide the best possible care for individuals.

He added that while they have their own ideas as to how to grow the organization, they believe it is valuable to receive input from community members who might utilize the facilities and services. Thus they have people fill out questionnaires as to what they’d like to see develop and what they envision for the future of Sacred Ground.

He said they ultimately would develop a farm with a petting zoo where participants could engage with the public and take ownership of the petting zoo. There also would be housing opportunities, but for now they will focus on developing programs in daycare at Grace Church in Berlin.

If anyone would like to contribute to the nonprofit organization, they can do so financially or through providing supplies. That list of ongoing supplies includes crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors, glue sticks, erasers, word searches, Play-Doh, beads, dry erase boards, kids books, folders, binders, adult bed pans, wipes, paper towels and tissues.

Long said the transportation radius includes a 17-mile radius from Grace, which can include East Holmes and surrounding areas. Those outside the radius who are interested would have to provide their own transportation.

He said the community has already been incredible with its giving and supporting, and he and the board are excited to connect with more organizations and churches.

If anyone has questions or would like to apply or donate, they can call Long at 330-403-9075. To learn more about Sacred Ground, visit www.thesacredground.org.


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