From The Solon Times

By Michele Collins

SOLON, Ohio — Exactly two years after its groundbreaking, Solon Community Living is now complete, home to 15 residents and their caregivers, serving as a living tribute to what can be done when parents set out to take care of their children– and the community pitches in to support them.

On June 7, more than 250 gathered at the Solon Community Living (SCL) residential neighborhood in Solon for an open house and celebration. Included in the celebration were the 15 residents and their families, along with local government officials and SCL donors.

But at the heart of the celebration were those residents who shared why their “new home,” was a reason to celebrate.

“I love it here,” shared resident Joey Nook. “I like hanging out with my best buddy Jack,” he said with a wide smile. Jack Hemmelgarn agreed, adding that “we get to do so many things here, I really like the movie nights and the community dinners.” Evan Berg, another resident, who spoke during the open house program on behalf of all the residents said, “it is a great place. I can walk to the community center, or walk to downtown. It’s the best location. We are thankful to live here.”

All three residents shared their newfound independence as a reason for wanting to live in Solon Community Living, something the community’s two resident assistant staff members applauded.

“Now that there are 15 residents here, you can see the connections that have been made, you can see the friendships that have been formed,” shared Gabriella Rapposelli, resident assistant.

“The growth they have had, the independence they have now, we even have a resident council, where the residents decide on the activities that they want to do. I would say 90 percent of the activities that go on here are recommended by the residents,” added Emma Van Winkle, also a resident assistant.

But getting to this moment was not easy, in fact “it was so much hard work,” shared Ara Bagdasarian, founder of SCL along with his wife Leslie. The couple began the process to build this first community of its kind back in 2015.

“There are basically three words that I want to share that describe how I feel today,” said Mr. Bagdasarian. “Joy, gratitude and hope. The joy of just being here with all of you and seeing this dream become a reality, after 10 years… Just seeing the joy on the faces of the residents and hearing the expressions that I have heard from parents, and city officials. I can’t express how wonderful that feels and there are tears in my eyes.”

He said that he and his wife started the mission at their kitchen table when they talked about what would happen to their two adult children, Julie and Alex, who suffer from Fragile X syndrome, when the couple could no longer care for them. They started by sharing their desire to build such a community for adults with disabilities with former Solon City Councilman Bill Russo, who also spoke at the meeting.

“We are here for a celebration of vision, necessity, perseverance and love,”said Mr. Russo. “Ten years ago, Ara called me with what he called a crazy idea. But as a parent, you always want what’s best for your children, and you always are concerned about how they are going to grow up. But I never really gave any consideration until that day, the way Ara put it, ‘I am worried about what’s going to happen to my children after I am gone.’”

Ward 1 City Councilman Macke Bentley, became emotional when he shared, “Ara said to me, ‘I just want to live one day longer than my kids,’” and it really just brought me to tears. To know of his fears. And I knew I wanted to do anything I could to see this dream realized.”

With the help of Solon voters, who passed an ordinance by an 83 percent margin to allow specialized disability zoning for the community, to the many construction and logistic challenges the group faced to building such a community, to the finding and educating resident families about the process of independence, and to the building of a team of caregivers and support personnel, led by community director Logan Andress, the Bagdasarians and the SCL board built the residential community through a community of support. Not to mention the raising of more than $6 million to fund the project, through the generosity of over 500 SCL donors.

For parent Aletta Sinoff, whose son Alan is an SCL resident, she said the event was about peace of mind.

“For the 13 sets of parents, we have had different journeys, but our prayer is the same. A prayer driven by our acute awareness that at some point we would be less able to help our loved ones…. It was a prayer for our adult children for a safe, nurturing community, one that would understand and appreciate and continue the supports. My term for that is ‘critical scaffolding,’ different for each resident, critical for people with disabilities to live and thrive in a productive way.”

She shared a story of how the Bagdasarians themselves planted two rose bushes in front of her son’s residence, because he had said he would not move in until there “were roses in front of my house.”

“That is the kind of understanding we all sought,” she said.

But this day was a celebration of coming together, with food, laughter, and community.

The residents happily shared their homes and their clubhouse with those who wanted to see them.

The staff enjoyed a chance to share their work with the greater community. The donors and supporters were able to see the dream they had supported come true.

And Ara and Leslie Bagdasarian had a chance to thank everyone around them for helping them with their vision, a vision now complete, with SCL a thriving and supportive neighborhood of 15 residents.

“We welcome you all to celebrate with us,” shared Leslie Bagdasarian. “We’ve seen our dream of bringing this community to life come true, and now that it is built, we personally look forward to the years ahead, because we want to see our residents and their families and us get to know one another, build new friendships, in this special neighborhood and watch our children grow as individuals. I get the fun job today of thanking everybody.”