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Grief Inspires a Place of Friendship
Seventeen-year-old Erin Horst was a loving, athletic, musical and creative person who loved animals, cooking and volunteer-ing, says her mom, REALTOR® Stacy Horst, a salesperson with Keller Williams Atlantic Partners in Fernandina Beach, Fla. Erin was also autistic and faced bullying and isolation. On Jan. 29, 2014, she took her own life. In their grief, Horst and her husband Darren launched an initiative to help others. “There was a moment we looked at each other and said, we either do something or this might kill us,” she says. “But we have another child, so we can’t [give up].”
If Erin had had somewhere safe to go, Horst says, a place where she could have had fun that had nothing to do with therapy, she would still be alive today. So the couple founded a nonprofit for other teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, level 1, formerly called Asperger’s. It’s called Erin’s Hope for Friends, and opened in 2015. Her brokerage and real estate colleagues have offered both emotional and financial support, she says.
More than 5,000 individuals have participated in Erin’s Hope so far. It operates two facilities—one in Atlanta, where they lived when Erin died, and one in Lexington, Ky., where Erin was born. “They come to play ping pong or air hockey, or do arts and crafts,” Horst says. “We have special dances and dinners, Halloween parties, and other events through the year.”
The organization also offers a virtual club for people all over the U.S. and Canada.
Shanelle McLain discovered the “e’s Club” in Georgia shortly after her son was released from a hospitalization program focused on his mental health. “I knew his life hung on the line, and socialization was just as much a part of his recovery as therapy was,” McLain says.
Erin’s Hope was created with a focus on 12- to 18-year-olds, but when members began to age out, the organization added programs for young adults.
One of the unexpected benefits has been the educational aspect for neurotypical adults and teens who come to volunteer. They don’t know what to expect as they arrive to spend three hours with autistic teenagers. “By the time they leave, they come up to us and say they had the best time. It has helped destigmatize what a teen or young adult with autism is like,” Horst says.
Erin’s Hope for Friends honors the sweet spirit of its namesake, Horst says. “I miss her spirit.”