04/13/2023
Life is full of milestones, little moments of a shared experience. The events along this winding road that connect us to one another. Well, most of us.
When you find yourself the parent of a child with complex needs, you inevitably mourn the loss of many moments your child will not have. A video of their first steps never taken. The long awaited first word never spoken. The independence of riding a bike. Slumber parties and best friends to share secrets with. Graduations, college dorm rooms, weddings, and babies of their own.
You watch your child grow and from their struggles you learn resilience. From their silence you find your voice. Through their long-fought battles, you find victories others overlook. You learn to climb the mountains you cannot move and to celebrate moments once taken for granted.
Then every now and then life surprises you and sends you exactly what you needed at the exact moment you needed it. You open the door on a dark and cloudy day, to find the rainbow makers asking you to come in from the rain.
17 years ago, with the guidance of Ruthie-Marie Beckwith, Harli called her friends and family to a gathering. A meeting of the minds that would change the entire trajectory of her life, in very significant ways.
Founding and present Board Members Anna Mae Robbins, Diane Johnson, Trisha Gayle Johnson, Rachel Wadle Nieland, Stacy Hayford, Destini Kirkpatrick and Margaret Britton Mickelson brought their many gifts to the table and laid out a map that would guide us all to walk beside her, lift her up and let her go when it was time. Harli Can Incorporated was created to allow Harli Kirkpatrick to build a life on her terms and realize her dreams, regardless of how unlikely they could be.
Through a rocky and obstacle laden adventure, Harli Can Inc. set out to open closed doors, crumble bureaucratic towers, rewrite the rules to include all people regardless of ability, and give Harli and others like her, the life they wanted for themselves.
Three years later, new friends would open a door she long feared didn’t exist. Jean & Nathan Trainor, Darlene Hanson and Christi Kasa would join forces and breakdown the barriers to communication in ways we never imagined, giving voice to all Harli aspired to be, and do. The layers of silence were slowly peeled away, and like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, Harli burst into the world giving her dreams new energy.
In October 2022 she had the opportunity to visit a local HCBS Waiver home that had an opening. Along with her entourage, and armed with questions from board members unable to attend, she toured the house, met the other young women that reside there, and interacted with the staff. When we returned home and asked Harli what she thought she quickly typed the words “Time to try live free.”
Spending the next months visiting the home, with her mother in tow, soon gave way to longer visits on her own.
It thrills me to finally say that on January 5th, 2023 Harli signed her first lease and took the reigns of her own life.
She now fully resides in her own home. A home built with her in mind, offering her wide hallways, a roll-in shower, a large bedroom of her own and with 24/7 staff, as much independence as she can muster. Along with three housemates, she lives everyday on her terms. While the board members of Harli Can Inc, along with her family and extended family keep a close eye on her, and the people charged with caring for her, she wakes up every single day living her dream.
Living free!
