By Chris Lyman and Nancy Ensor
Growing up with 10 brothers and sisters made us a tight-knit family. Brian is the youngest sibling, and we all looked out for him. Our family moved to Maryland, and Brian saw his older siblings get married and build our own lives. He wanted his own home too. Brian’s not a big talker but he makes his thoughts known. He would say “my home” – wanting to know when it would happen for him.
As our folks got older we realized our capabilities were limited to care for Brian on our own. We had a lot of mixed emotions about getting help. When we found Jubilee, back in 1979, we were thrilled that he’d be living in a home setting. Brian moved into Jubilee’s first group home, where he still lives. He was so happy. He’d now say “my house” with pride when we came to visit him.
We’ve seen Jubilee grow a lot from those early days. We’ve seen Brian grow too. He’s happy and settled. When we get together for Christmas the family has a little joke about how long it will be before Brian tells us he’s ready to get back to his own house.
We’re very grateful for everything Jubilee has done for Brian. He loves living in his own home; to us, that speaks for itself.