Friendship Club meets very special need
Nancy Robertson of Butler Township and Christine Braho of Summit disagree on when their Friendship Club started — Robertson says it was 2010 while Braho said it began in 2009 — but they both agreed on the club's mission.
That was to provide higher functioning mentally challenged adults with a social outlet.
“It was basically having lunch together,” said Robertson. “Her son had cerebral palsy, and we started talking about that.
Braho said, “We knew each other before we started the club. We worked together at an agency in the 1980s.”
“She's a speech therapist and I have a background in special education.
“We basically put our heads together,” Robertson said. “Interviewing her son, he didn't have a lot of friends.”
The mission of the club was to change that.
Robertson said, “We can start a club for adults who are living on their own with some support help but are basically isolated.”
Braho said, “We are not associated with an agency. We are just two private individuals. I have a son in the club.
“But we both have our clearances. Clearances you would need to have to work in a school,” said Braho.
Nine (or 10) years after forming, the club is still going strong.
“We have 12 to 15 members and we meet once a month for dinner and a game night. Once a month we are out in the community, going somewhere,” Robertson said.
She said the Friendship Club meets once a month at Abba's House, 320 W. Main St., Saxonburg.Robertson said, “Through the club we have had two marriages, and several people are dating each other. That is not our goal. It is to bring people together. There is a lot of isolation physically.”“These are kids that were mainstreamed in high school. And now their friends are going on to college and they lost track of each other,” she said.The minimum age is 18 to the late 40s.“Age doesn't seem to matter. They are amazing people,” Robertson said.Because of the club, Robertson said, there is a group of men that go roller skating and have dinner afterward.“The majority work. Some drive. Some are more independent than others,” Robertson said.Five club members work at Giant Eagle.Robertson said, “I know it meets a need. The big thing now is transportation. A couple of agencies have brought people with them.”Braho said, “Parents are very involved in our club.”Word of the club and its activities is “word of mouth,” said Robertson.“We are not looking to get much more than 25 people,” she said.Still, according to Braho, the club is planning an open house in October to introduce itself to agencies and parents who might work with the people the club was formed to help.
WHAT: Friendship Club open houseWHEN: 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 1WHERE: Abba's House, 320 W. Main St., SaxonburgINFO: Call Christine Braho at 724-285-1594 or email cmbraho@gmail.com or Nancy Robertson at 724-482-2587 or email nlrob2@aol.com
