Georgia Magazine - November 2024 - 24

Safespace
Woodstock club provides social outlet for
young people with autism
By Rosalyn Dunn * Photos courtesy of
Erin's Hope for Friends
I
n 2014, 17-year-old Erin Horst of
Roswell was a talented, compassionate
girl who faced a number of
challenges, including being diagnosed
with an autism spectrum disorder. She
struggled to fit in with her peers and was
bullied. That year, she took her own life.
" Four days later, Erin's parents
[Darren and Stacy Horst] sat on Erin's
bedroom floor and said, 'What can we
do to make sure no one else has to go
through something like this?' " says
Nicole Burroughs, executive director of
Erin's Hope for Friends.
The Acworth-based organization
was born out of the Horsts' grief and
determination to have an impact. The
grieving parents believed that if their daughter had had just one
friend, it would have made all the difference in her life.
Erin's Hope for Friends aims to make that happen for teens
and young adults with autism. The organization has locations
of its e's Club in Woodstock and Lexington, Ky., that provide
safe places where these young people can have positive social
interactions and forge those critical friendships.
The e's Club in Woodstock is a 3,000-square-foot facility
that opened last year after older spaces in Fulton and Cobb
counties closed. The club has reading nooks, pingpong tables,
art supplies, video games and conversation areas. The space
offers a fresh start for members after activities were forced
online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2015, more than 1,500 youths have been served by
Erin's Hope programming.
A place to be themselves
Young people ages 12 to 18 come from as far as
Savannah and Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday and Saturday
24 Georgia Magazine November 2024
Above: e's Club members play games and
participate in life-skills programming on Friday
and Saturday nights. Left: e's Club provides a safe
space for teens and young adults to make friends
and be themselves without fear of judgment.
nights to socialize in a relaxed,
self-directed atmosphere. New
members often start out tentatively,
says program director Becky Matthews,
but are gently encouraged and never
forced to participate.
" Pretty soon they will be hanging
out on the sofas, talking, getting what
they need to connect, " she says. " They
all have different needs and deficits.
Autism is not on a line from low to
medium to high; it's like a circle. "
Matthews' first experience with
e's Club was as a parent who saw what it meant to her son to find
a place where he found acceptance just as he was.
" It's the consistency of knowing they have friends, " she says.
" If they have a 'stim' [a behavior such as rocking or flapping
hands used to manage emotion] that they are afraid of [displaying]
in school, they don't have to hide it here. "
All e's Club staff started as members or volunteers, which
gives them insight to help tailor the club experience to what the
teens want and need.
" We tell them, 'This is your space.' It's very important in an
organization that caters to autistic people to have their voice
heard in the running of e's Club, " Matthews says. " We don't know
how it feels to be autistic. "
It's also a space that offers needed support to families.
" We have a mission to educate the community and to
provide respite for parents, " Matthews says. " They get tired, and
here they know they have a safe place for their kids. "
Programming at e's Club focuses on life skills and addresses
dating, bullying and friendships. Members also can participate
in the virtual e's Club, with online social activities that include
Georgia Magazine - November 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - November 2024
