Blog
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More Than a Day Program, it’s Living Life Together
It is a support system for the families, educators, and community partner leaders, place of connection for volunteers, and social change for all of Nashville.
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Christmas at the Capitol
The Friends were invited to be guests of honor for the Governor and First Lady’s Christmas tree lighting celebration. As soon as we pulled up, snow flakes began to fall.
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An Experiment in Joy and Connection
The Treat Truck booked 40 events its first year. Now it serves at 100 events each year. We've added 4 paid positions for individuals with disabilities!
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Barrier-Free Leadership Using Improv
Barrier-free leadership aims to remove obstacles and create an inclusive environment where everyone can participate, contribute, and thrive.
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What We Give Up By “Fitting In”
Unfortunately, adults with developmental disabilities are often asked to shift, stretch, mold, change, adapt, and behave in a way that allows them to “fit in” to a society that is...
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Weaving Connection: Tension and Unity at Friends Life Community
I started reading the book, “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer during an extended period of leave from work. She opens the book by describing the sacredness of braiding a...
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The Secret to Spreading Joy and the Science Behind It
The smile on Katie’s face when she handed the staff at Friends Life Community a colorful mystery box, was infectious. The box was wrapped in copy paper, decorated with various...
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Five Essential Steps for Fostering Inclusion in the Workplace
In today’s workforce, creating an inclusive workplace is not just a nice idea but is also a competitive advantage. Inclusivity means ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, feels valued...
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Friends’ Treat Truck – Positive Impact for the Friends
By Patsy Webb, M.A.Ed.S., C.E.S.P., Program Director: Dream, Grow, Achieve The Friends are extremely excited about their Treat Truck! Going into the community, bringing smiles to the faces of our...
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Why National Disability Employment Awareness Month Matters
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a month dedicated to recognizing the contributions of individuals with disabilities in the workforce. It is imperative to distinguish the difference between...
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Celebrating 15 Years of Lifelong Friendship
Friendship: The Heart of Friends Life Community How much value do you place on your friendships? Can you imagine life without your closest friends? Who do you turn to in...
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15 Years of Real Community
Earlier this year, we had the honor of gathering with the original founders of Friends Life Community (FLC) around a familiar dinner table. As we began, Jack Herndon, co-founder and Board Chair...
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Celebrating 15 Years of Friendship, Belonging, and Purpose
15 Years of Friendship Fifteen years ago, our story began with the coming together of four founding families — the Herndons, the Hamiltons, the Phillippis and Jennie Scott — and Suzanne Williams....
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Discovering the Power of Resilience: A Journey Through Art and Identity
In a captivating upcoming exhibition at the Frist Art Museum titled ‘The Power of Resilience,’ the Friends bare their souls through a remarkable collection of original and collaborative artwork. Each piece serves...
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Celebrating Disability Pride Month 2023
“It changed the way people think about me.” -Sean C. July is Disability Pride Month. It is a dedicated reminder to celebrate and honor the achievements, resilience, and diversity of...
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Being Seen as Equals
As an organization that breaks down barriers and reduces stigmas for people with disabilities, one of the most powerful statistics we have to share is the sheer number of volunteer...
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Being Called By Name
Have you ever considered what makes you feel you are part of a positive and healthy community? How do you know that you are valued by others around you? When...
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An Audacious Vision
A shared concern brought them together. A commitment to their loved ones drove them to action. A mutual vision of creating a real and meaningful community for adults with intellectual...
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The Health Benefits and Ordinary Miracles of Friendship
Imagine there is a single factor that can reduce many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure, and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). Now imagine there is data...
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A Team Full of Joeys
Joey Royer, one of Friends Life Community’s employment coaching clients, is celebrating his first month on the job as an employee at WilRo Inc., in Gallatin, TN. WilRo Inc. reached out to us...
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Together, We Are Extraordinary
“There is nothing static about FLC – neither the programming, personal growth, or what always seem to be endless possibilities of what a committed and motivated community can accomplish.” –...
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What the Friends Have Taught Me About Songwriting
By Phoebe Scott. In my four-year tenure at Belmont University, I learned techniques from Grammy-winning songwriters, acquired industry secrets from well-practiced music business lawyers, and took sage advice from successful artists....
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What is Acceptance?
“In short, acceptance means that people know who you are, and they include you anyway.” My mom says that when I was little, I would ask her about her “friends...
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From film to friend, how Clint began volunteering at FLC.
By: Lauren Zook “Clint Smart has such a gift for honoring visions, stories, and people through film. He has been able to capture the colorful sprits and humorous stories from...
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Providing Peace of Mind for Families
By: Lauren B. Zook I often think about a tour I gave a few years ago to a local developer. Upon his arrival to the FLC house he was happily...
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Discovering true self-empowerment through art coaching.
Each week for the past seven months, Lauren has met with Friends Life Community Visual Arts Specialist Heather Dawn for one-on-one art coaching. During this creativity-focused time, Lauren discovered that...
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Everyone deserves stories about them.
By: Waverly Ann Harris, M.S.Ed. When was the last time you cried during a movie? What about it evoked such emotion that you were moved to tears? Film is a...
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Nutrition Highlight: Smoothies, a Friend-Favorite for Improving Health (Recipe Included!)
It is common for adults with disabilities to have a limited diet, lacking a variety of nutrients necessary for the body’s systems to work well. One of our favorite phrases in...
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What We Learned From Temple Grandin
By Patsy Webb, M.A.Ed.S., and FLC Career Coach Generations of people across the world now have a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) because of Dr. Temple Grandin. On Feb. 27, Dr. Grandin joined some...
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Creative Thinking and Reasonable Accommodations
By Patsy Webb, M.A.Ed.S., and FLC Career Coach Easy and reasonable accommodations improve an already great fit When Kate started her new internship in the jewelry–making department of a local clothing store, she had a...
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Opportunities and Support Lead to Long-Term Meaningful Employment: A Parent’s Perspective
By David Dunkin, parent of Kaylea Having a job is an important part of Kaylea’s quality of life. It is part of her vision of being an adult and living the...
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The Ripple Effects of Inclusive Employment
By Patsy Webb, M.A.Ed.S., and Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) “When we all do better, we all do better.” So goes the quote attributed to former Minnesota Senator, Paul Wellstone. At Friends Life Community, we believe that...
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Meet Bradley
Bradley is an energetic, caring, and outgoing individual who possesses a positive attitude and enjoys helping others. He has several years of experience working and is currently employed at Taziki’s Café. Bradley envisions...
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Inclusive Employment: Courage in the Workplace
By: Waverly Ann Harris “I believe courage is external… it’s not the ability that gave you courage, it’s the net,” explains Simon Sinek in his 3 minute YouTube video, Where Does Courage Come From....
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3 Reasons Why Siblings of Individuals with IDD Are Necessary for Future Planning
By: Waverly Ann Harris Friends Life Community (FLC) serves teenagers and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), or as we call them, Friends. Our focus is to help the...