2021 Expansion Grant
Island Autism Group
Island Autism has had an incredibly busy 2023. We are estimating opening our day programming side with the completion of the farm, barn and Hub House in March of 2024. After a successful fundraising campaign in 2023 where we raised $2M in pledges, we are confident that with continued support we will be able to pay off our 501(c)(3) bond loan for Phase One and move on to Phase Two, a residential portion of our programming for adults with autism and autism-related disorders. Our after school and summer programs have expanded at both ends. We are piloting our preschoolers and caregiver yoga and we have also built on our post 22 year old program. It is now year-round and has dedicated staff. In the mornings, we do job-related activities and after lunch head out into the community for recreational fun. We look forward to a spring open house, yoga on the porch of the Hub House, and expanding our farming endeavors to include a second season at the Farmers market and much more. Thank you, MVYouth for putting wind in our sails and helping us create our home base! We look forward to welcoming the community to share in the joy of our members as we work, play and thrive in our new space.
Island Autism Group
The Island Autism Group (IAG), is a well-established non-profit that serves autistic children and their families on Martha’s Vineyard. Since its inception, IAG has helped autistic children on the island access extracurricular programs, equipment and any other resources necessary and beneficial for their development. IAG has developed a vision of an Island Autism Center, a place on Martha’s Vineyard where children and adults with autism can live life to their fullest potential. This ambitious plan will offer housing and programs, including:
A Hub House to serve as a base for day programming, offices, commercial kitchen, library, media room, gathering space, and living space for interns and guest lecturers.
Five residential units which will house 12-18 residents.
A micro farm to provide opportunities for physical skill development and to promote healthy eating.
Therapeutic and enrichment programs tailored to the individual needs of residents and program participants.
Community inclusion through ongoing partnerships with Island organizations and businesses.
This is a critical project and vital resource; we have identified ~200 year-round residents, including 56 school-aged children diagnosed on the autism spectrum, undiagnosed adults, and family members impacted by autism, all of whom could benefit from the Center. Thanks to our generous supporters - including MVYouth - we have already raised more than $1 million for the Hub House, but we need to raise another $2 million to complete this phase. Site demolition and groundbreaking are underway - help us make this project a reality!
Island Autism Group
Ground-breaking for the Island Autism’s Center is expected in April 2022. The Center will be a community for both school-age children, adolescents and adults over 22 year old living with Autism, serving about 200 Island residents in some capacity, including 56 school age children. The hub of the community will be the Hub House and surrounding the Hub House will be a micro farm, barn with livestock, farm stand and residential housing. Design work on the Hub House and residences has been completed by Union Studio, after months of weekly consultation with Island Autism Group and Derrill Bazzy, the Island Housing Trust consultant on the permitting portion of the project. The project will be completed in three phases: the first being the Hub House, barn and farm stand. We hope to be providing our day programs on site by the end of summer 2022. The residences will come in the second and third phases which will overlap funding permitted. Each structure has been painstakingly designed to provide a wealth of therapeutic enrichment programs and work opportunities for members of IAG and to encourage community involvement. We are also enjoying our continued deeper dive into the local farming community as we develop our farm. Lots of conversations are ongoing with Island farmers who will enrich our programs as we will enrich theirs.
Island Autism’s summer and after school programs continued to thrive in 2021 despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic. Our weekly activities continued through the summer and extended throughout the school year in the afternoons. In two groups, one including 5-11 year olds, and another with teens, we traveled to locations around the island in Moby, the IAG van. The activities included therapeutic drumming, photography lessons, visits to Polly Hill, music, yoga, bowling, fishing, swimming, horseback riding and more. Our list of program partners continues to grow, including Misty Meadows, Rhythm of Life, Melissa Knowles, Jen DeLorenzo, Polly Hill, SailMV, the YMCA, and the Barn Bowl & Bistro. We look forward to a new partnership with ACEing Autism and Vineyard Family Tennis to offer tennis instruction to our campers starting in March. Our participants included 8 “littles” aged 5 - 11 and 6 teens. Neurotypical students from elementary and high schools also regularly join in.
We are launching our summer camp to jobs program this spring. The program is funded for the next three years through a Tower Foundation grant. We are so grateful for all the support that is making this project possible and particularly grateful to MVYouth for the initial grant that is helping us realize the Hub Farmhouse. Stay Tuned!!
Island Autism Group
Led by Kate DeVane, IAG has been serving autistic children and their families, as well as providing services and resources to the local school systems on Martha’s Vineyard since 2008. IAG has partnered with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank (MVLB) and Island Housing Trust (IHT) to establish an Island Autism Center and residential neighborhood. In mid-November, IAG and MVLB together purchased a 17.5 acre parcel on upper Lambert’s Cove Road in West Tisbury. IAG now owns 7.5 acres, and MVLB owns 10.0 acres. IHT will serve as the developer of both the campus headquarters (to be known as the Hub House) and the subsequent residential component.
The Center will help fulfill the group’s mission to provide services and support for school-age children and young adults with autism, will include a small, mission-driven farming operation and eventually provide a needed residential setting for young adults with autism who are ready to move out of their family homes. IAG has identified approximately 200 year-round residents, including 56 school-aged children diagnosed on the autism spectrum and family members impacted by autism.
The Island Autism Center capital campaign has three phases. MVYouth’s funding will complete phase 1, which has a budget of $1.2M and includes the construction of the Hub House and farm stand. IAG is actively fundraising for phase 2, which includes the construction of a barn and half of the residential zone, and phase 3, which includes the second half of the residential construction.