MANCHESTER – A new resource for those with autism now occupies the former site of The Barn on Route 70 in the Whiting section of the township.
Volunteers from Jackson Township High School came out during a busy Saturday morning at the rechristened Evermore Dream Center for a Community Garden Kickoff and Volunteer Day that featured a DJ, food trucks, games for all ages, vendors, flower planting, painting and nature activities.
“It is also a community yard sale and a clean-up,” said Jennifer Overfield, the chief visionary, development officer and co-founder of Evermore. There was also a fundraiser to help with funeral costs for the family of someone who had recently passed away.
“We also have senior helpers here who are certified home aides, as well as Golden Heart Advocacy which is our sister organization under the positive impact alliance which is our 501(c)3 foundation. We have under that Evermore Lifestyle Solutions and recreational memberships from all walks of life especially individuals with autism,” she added.
“I am an autism self-advocate which is why I co-founded Evermore with Kevin Herman who owns Senior Helpers. Our sister organizations of Golden Heart Advocacy treat individuals as a golden retriever would,” she added.
Evermore Family Support Director Laurie Gonzalez said her son comes to the new facility. “We are very new. It is an adult autism center with community involvement. It has programs and clubs and classes but mainly for 18 plus. This is one of our locations. I had started at their Brick location at Town Square (at 1930 Route 88 Brick). They also have facilities in Princeton and Marlton.”
The Town Square locations partnered with Evermore and provide programs for adults. “The Whiting location is our first standalone center. What we are doing here is a café run by the Next Step program. They come every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and our members serve coffee, tea, bagels, muffins and then they can come back later for salad and sandwiches,” she added.
“We do cooking. Mondays and Fridays our members pick the item of choice and then everybody lines up and they learn how to cook something different and then everybody serves everybody (in the café area). Our hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday right now but in the future, we will be doing evening classes and weekends. This took us awhile to get set up but we have a lot of parent involvement because we live it. That is what we love about Evermore is that as a parent our kids love it here,” Gonzalez said. “Everything is so well planned out and thought of and it is great for us because the adult’s life is difficult.”
She explained that she works for Golden Heart Advocacy, “as my son’s direct support professional. We have a pet pantry and our seniors can come in and our members staff it. We have job training going on here. I do the family support here. My role is when the new families come in.”
“We are very proud of everything that is happening here. It is set up with a little bit for everybody,” she added, pointing out some of the vintage miniature arcade games that are utilized by those autistic individuals who spend time at the center.
Gonzalez explained, “when we do the games or lunch it is around a large table which we use for the social skills support. When I first came in I loved it immediately because it is cozy and not a sterile building. We have table tennis and an exercise area and our garden outside. Volunteers are working on that and we will be planting herbs. A lot of this is done through donations.”
She noted that each individual who is part of the program has a schedule “and they love it. We have dances here and games, karaoke. As a parent of an adult with autism it is very difficult to find quality programs for our kids and here they come and form relationships. They learn to do things and it is set up in such a way that they can follow a schedule and be a part of it or we have some that just come in and they just want to be with friends. Because friendship building is almost impossible unless you are involved with something.”
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