The lessons they learned from their daughter culminated in The Hali Project, which they founded in 1999. The non-profit helps families with special needs children, connecting them with the right resources to face their unique challenges. The organization educates everyone involved with special needs children, from parents to doctors to teachers.
But in tough times like these, Brad Thompson points out that non-profit organizations struggle just as corporations do. Not only do they find it harder to get funding, but the people they help are making do with less.
“The biggest impact we've seen from the downturn has been a reduction in services available to our families,” said Thompson. “But we see that as an opportunity, because we really began this work with the philosophy that in our local communities we have all the resources necessary to provide what our families need by working together.”
That’s why the Thompsons encourage communities to develop their own support systems. “Over the past 25 years, we've developed sort of a learned helplessness,” he said. “If a government agency such as a social service or a school district has a service cut, then we really feel helpless because that's where we've always gone for that help.” Thompson believes that families of children with special needs can reduce the impact of the recession by turning to non-traditional means: building a local support structure instead of depending on state or federal programs.
“It really feeds into our belief that communities have everything they need to help each other,” explained Thompson. “And when we get the right people in the room and we ask the right questions, we find that there are assets available that we wouldn't have known about if we hadn't been asking the question.”
Thompson has also begun looking for funding in unexpected places, including pharmaceutical companies. “We have seen that many low socioeconomic communities have very low immunization rates. Well, a pharmaceutical company would have a vested interest in raising those immunization rates, and in a moderate-sized practice it would only take a couple of percentage points' rise in the immunization rate to pay for that person in the office,” he said.
This creative dual approach—finding funds in new places while learning to function with less—has kept The Hali Project active for 12 years and running. Thanks to the Thompsons’ dedication, children and young adults with special needs across the country are finding the resources they need to live fuller, healthier lives.
For more information please visit: www.thehaliproject.org
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
