As shared by Brian’s siblings Chris Lyman and Nancy Ensor, on behalf of the Lyman family.
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. We were lucky to live near the Ann J. Kellog school in Michigan, one of the first schools in the country to mainstream children with special needs in traditional classrooms. Brian loved school, and he would actually sneak out of the house to try to go to school on weekends!
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. The administrative staff worked out of the basement of Brian’s house back then. 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.