Massachusetts organization Raising Harts creates safe space for people of all abilities
HANOVER – A Massachusetts organization started a system and built a home for all families of neurodivergent children, providing a safe space for people of all abilities.
Candice Hartford, the founder of Raising Harts, has been on a mission ever since her son was diagnosed with autism.
"One of my nurse friends pulled me aside and she was the first person I told. And she grabbed my face in the medicine room and said 'You have to find your people,'" Hartford said.
A NICU nurse and mother of three, Hartford has twin boys with autism.
"I really didn't know anything but the perception of what most people believe autism is, which is kids that have sound sensitivities, or they are really sensitive to touch," Hartford said.
Hartford said she knew she wasn't the only one who felt alone. So she did something about it.
"That's why Raising Harts started to help other parents that are going through this," she said.
Raising Harts is a non-profit organization where parents help parents with kids of neurodiverse abilities in a space in Hanover.
"Their shoulders fall and they feel like they are welcomed and they are not being judged and they are being accepted and this is just a place where you can come and be listened to," said Adrien Asaff, director of therapeutic programs at Raising Harts.
Common bonds are made for a lifetime
"Might be from Plymouth or Quincy and Raising Harts is where they got together and they are friends for life," Asaff said.
"We tear up every day here because we have seen really beautiful connections that would not have been made otherwise," Hartford added.
For more information on Raising Harts go to their website.
