By Karen Dandurant
Foster’s Daily Democrat
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Greengard Center for Autism staff broke ground Friday for an adult residence home for people with autism.
“This project has been seven years in the making,” said Dr. Barbara Frankel, executive director of the Greengard Center. “We bought property on Brewery Lane, demolished the house there and will begin construction on our residence home. The property is across the parking lot from the Greengard Center, meaning the five residents of the home need only walk across the lot to get to the center. Being on the west side, the area is walkable and will be a good fit for our residents.”
Frankel established the Greengard Center when her son Elliott graduated from high school in 2011, realizing there were no services available for him to continue with. Elliott was present Friday and seemed pleased to be among those wearing hard hats and holding shovels.
“Every parent who has a child with autism of greater need worries about what will happen when that child becomes an adult with autism,” Frankel said. “We worry about how we will manage as we get older and we worry about who will be there when we are gone. We worry what comes next. The Greengard Center Residence is an answer to that question.”
New Hampshire first lady Valerie Sununu spoke Friday, congratulating Frankel for her accomplishment.
“When you meet someone like Barbara, you just want to lift her up,” Sununu said. “She understood the need and you just want to give her what she needs to make it happen. All I can say is congratulations.”
Assistant Mayor Cliff Lazenby welcomed the new center to the city. “What makes Portsmouth great is the people,” he said. “We love to see a success story like this, one that comes together through a community that cares, with people willing to pitch in. Having this makes Portsmouth a better place.”
The target date for occupancy is July 2020. The home is owned by the nonprofit Greengard Center.
“I started to think about what we were going to do next as Elliott approached 21,” Frankel said. “The age of 21 is usually a launch time for young people, a time they move out into the world. That was not going to happen with Elliott. I wanted to create a place for independent living for people like Elliott. He is about to be 30 and there are not a lot of options for adults with autism.”
In 2011, Frankel began planning for an adult living residence to supplement the Greengard Center’s adult day program, which opened in 2013, the same year she bought the residence at 89 Brewery Lane.
“We have the day program at the Greengard Center and the adults living in the home will still be able to attend the day program by simply walking across the parking lot,” she said. “I looked around for an architect and began exploring what a home would look like and for how many adults. I wanted to see how it would fit into the community.”
Autism adults have special needs that needed to be considered.
“We needed to explore the space needs,” Frankel said. “We needed to take a strong look at security. Adults with autism need a place they feel secure, safe and free. I needed to find a concept that would work with the continuing-care concept, one I learned a lot about through my own paging parents.”
The project has all approvals in place, including those from the state Department Health and Human Services and Department of Insurance for a continuing-care facility.
“The city boards were so supportive that I was in tears,” Frankel said. “They said they felt the home would be an asset to the community. Each time we went before the boards, with the architects, with the engineers, we were embraced.”
Frankel said the acceptance by the city was huge.
“When I had Elliott, there was such stigma surrounding autism,” Frankel said. “We always found help in Portsmouth and this is truly our home. We get the confidence we need here to keep moving forward. We know this is the place we are meant to be.”
One of the spaces in the five-resident home will be taken by Elliott. Frankel said two other spots have been filled and she is taking applications for the remaining two. Each space will include a bedroom, sitting room and a bathroom. There will be staff on hand to assist 24 hours a day.
“There will be a small apartment for a single person or a couple to help support the endeavor,” Frankel said. “We have amazing staff at the center and we anticipate the same in the resident home.”
Frankel said all businesses involved in the endeavor are local and include DeStefano Architects, Careno Construction, Cambridge Trust Bank (formerly Optima) and TFM Civil Engineers.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.