Abby is known as our fashionista with an amazing ear for music. She could name any show tune if you gave her three notes, and she strategically chooses what to wear before attending community events, such as a play at a local theater or a concert in the park.
Rose House’s Hanover Community Residence has been Abby’s home since December 2013. The move made a positive impact as she now lives more independently. Abby has chores including cleaning her dishes and doing her laundry.
After 32 years of living with her parents, Abby initially didn’t want to move away from home. It also wasn’t easy for them to let their daughter with special needs go.
“We had to trick her at first,” said her mother Pearl. “We told Abby that this was just a ‘temp home’ to try for six months. Now whenever she goes anywhere with us, she says she wants to go back to her ‘temp home’ at the end of the day.”
Abby’s Rose House story began much earlier than her move-in date. Her parents founded the organization in August 1999 and opened the Budd Lake Group Home in 2003, the first of the growing list of forever homes.
“We began building group homes because there were not enough housing options for people with developmental disabilities,” her father Mark explained. “When the parents of Abby’s school classmates said that they didn’t want their sons and daughters living in a group home because they should live more independently, we found a way to create apartments to meet their needs.”
The 12-client apartment complex opened in Cedar Knolls in June 2011. However, Abby couldn’t move in just because Mark served as Rose House’s executive director. She was on the DDD waiting list like everyone else in her situation. Once Abby was finally admitted, it was comforting knowing that she went to school with six other clients. The parents were also happy that they all lived together in the same community instead of all over the state. Abby and Billy went to their high school prom together and they still often attend the annual Liquid Church prom often with their housemates.
Abby enjoys attending a monthly sabbath service for adults with developmental disabilities at Adath Shalom synagogue in Morris Plains, which is open to people of all religions. She also loves horseback riding at Seaton Hackney Stables in Morristown and attending a day program at Progressive Comprehensive Services in Cedar Knolls.
