By James Coulter
For nearly 25 years, Circle of Friends have helped low-income individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Lake Wales. Now they’re seeking financial assistance to help pay off the mortgage to their new facility.
In 2022, Circle of Friends, a local non-profit in Lake Wales, having reached full capacity with its staff and students, moved to a larger facility located at 333 Lime Avenue. Their new facility includes a kitchen, dining hall, classrooms, offices, and a much larger space to facilitate future growth.
That growth includes a summer program called P.O.P. Tots, which recently started for children with intellectual and developmental differences ages 10 to 18. Another new addition is their virtual program, which connects IDD adults to their peers for lessons and activities of their choice.
Perhaps their most ambitious project is Friends Village, with plans to provide affordable housing in a supported living community just for the IDD population. Since the new facility has buildable property, Circle of Friends had begun planning to provide housing for IDD individuals in need.
However, a larger building also comes with a larger mortgage, placing them in serious need of financial support. They are asking the community to provide whatever assistance they can offer.
“We took a huge leap of faith when we sold our old building to begin our lease to own on the new facility and property,” explained Crystal Higbee, president of Circle of Friends. “It took every last bit of money that was made from the sale of the old building to secure the loan for the remaining costs to purchase the new facility. We are currently sitting at approximately $850,000.00 to be able to pay this debt off and move forward with our plans. Without the support of our community, we risk losing our new facility altogether. We just cannot reasonably keep up with such a large overhead and still provide resources at almost no cost to our low-income students.”
Circle of Friends is a local non-profit organization that, according to their website is dedicated to “equip, empower, and provide inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental differences.”
“[Our vision] is to one day become the provider of a set of complete resources that will help uplift and sustain a good standard or quality of life for the IDD residents living in our community,” their website states. “The vision includes supported living housing that is affordable, sustainable, and that has options for purchase to bring security and peace-of-mind to the residents and their families.”
The organization was started by Mertice Fehringer, a local mother of a daughter with developmental disabilities during a time when resources for such individuals proved scarce. Wanting to facilitate the change she sought for her community, Mertice started Circle of Friends in 1999 in the Sunday school room of a local church.
Over the next few years, their group outgrew their small classroom, requiring them to find a larger facility. Circle of Friends found that larger space at Stuart Avenue in Downtown Lake Wales. They purchased that building for only a dollar and moved into it in 2001.
During that time, they developed their Proclaiming Our Potential (P.O.P.) Day Program, a life skills development (LSD) program to help instill in their students the life and job skills necessary to live independently.
“Our goal is to equip the students at a younger age so when they are ready to graduate, they are more readily capable of competing with peers for entry-level jobs and can spot and stop any abuse or exploitation that they may face at home from caregivers who want to keep them dependent for their benefits,” Higbee explained. “Our program is structured to graduate these individuals into an independent life of the highest degree possible.”
By 2022, the organization was “bursting at the seams” with new students and their old building had been worn away with age and storm damage. Further complicating matters were downtown renovations, which would have forced them to lose the front side of their facility, which would have affected the accessibility of their students.
After creating a task force, they scoped the area for a new location, which they discovered in the former Westside Baptist Church at Lime Street. Last year, they moved into their new facility, but by doing so, incurred a significant mortgage which they now need help paying off.
“It was fantastic, but that price tag was real hefty,” Higbee said. “We had the option to buy with a stringent time frame. We had 18 months to purchase this building. We sold the building we were in. We got those funds. We lost several students due to finances. The economy turned, and now we just had to deal with the loss.”
However, despite their financial difficulty, Circle of Friends remains committed to assisting members of the community with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
“We have a policy that we do not turn away any student for their lack of ability to pay,” Higbee said. “They can apply for scholarships and we find a way to get them in.”
Circle of Friends is getting by with assistance from local residents and through grants. However, they are asking for donations to help them pay off their debt. One method is to sponsor a student to keep them enrolled in their services for a full year.
To learn more about Circle of Friends, or to find out how you can help, visit their website at: https://www.circleoffriendsministry.com/
