Sackville co-op farm 'like a family' for neurodivergent young people

Nolan Dobbin warmly greets people at the Open Sky Co-Operative Farm in southeastern New Brunswick. 

It's clear he feels very much at home at the farm in Sackville for neurodivergent young adults.

"I do some gardening, some weeding, heavy lifting, cooking, cleaning. Really, I'm a man of all trades," Dobbin said with a laugh.

Dobbin came to Open Sky three years ago, at the age of 18, and most weeks, spends four days working at the farm.

After high school, his future was uncertain and without Open Sky, he said, he'd probably be at home, "sitting on my butt doing nothing."

It's a common experience for young adults who are neurodivergent, according to Open Sky's executive director, Laura Hunter.

"Families describe it as a cliff," she said of the time when young people leave the school system at 18 or 19.

"The levels of support that are available to them, that they had all through school that helped them with their achievements in school, often disappear."

The idea for the co-operative came out of a dinner conversation Hunter and her partner had with the parents of a young adult on the autism spectrum about their concerns over what would come after high school.

"We were talking about the stresses and the challenges for any young people living with some barriers," Hunter said. "But also thinking about the mental health issues that many young people are facing … you know all of those decisions are hard enough for a neurotypical young adult."

Hunter prefers the term neurodivergent rather than using specific labels for participants at Open Sky.

She said there is a broad spectrum of abilities among the 14 people in the program and they focus on those abilities, interests and goals.

Some participants have come to learn how to live independently.

Others have employment goals and are learning skills that range from cooking and cleaning to gardening and landscaping and furniture repair.

They take care of the animals on the farm; the chickens, donkeys and an old, beloved goat named Mocha.

Many are here to build social skills and to learn how to live in a community. 

"Part of our mission statement is fostering inclusive communities," Hunter explained. "Making dominant society — our community — places where difference is welcomed and accepted and the brilliance and the beauty of each individual is what we seek to engage in our communities."

In the past year, Open Sky participants created a series of videos called The Social Spectrum Series.

Each video takes people through different social situations, at the grocery store, for example, from the perspective of a neurodivergent person.

"What they came to in their planning together was, 'Why do all the videos that we see tell neurodivergent people how to act differently when really it's the neurotypical people that need to act differently,'" she said.

"So that became a focus and they had a lot of fun. They have great senses of humour that came out in the making of these few videos."

Community support key to success

The surrounding community of Sackville is an integral part of the successes of Open Sky.

Students from Mount Allison University spend time at the co-op during the school year, working on projects with participants.

Volunteers help out with jobs and activities on the farm and lend their expertise in teaching skills.

Cory Hollingworth of Sackville donates a lot of his time helping to maintain the property, from fixing doors to mending fences.

He said what he gets in return helps his own mental health. 

"I have my own personal struggles with some ADHD and anxiety and some post traumatic stress," he said. "So having a place like Open Sky that reciprocates my help by helping me remember to do things like take care of my own self, definitely makes me more self aware about some of the areas that I may struggle with.

"And it has definitely been helpful having a nurturing place to exercise these things."

When it comes to employment opportunities, Hunter said, the Co-Op tries to match participants with local employers and also offers community workshops on how to make workplaces more inclusive for neurodivergent individuals.

They also explore possibilities for self-employment.  

One of the success stories is Powerhouse Co-operative Ltd. It offers cleaning and municipal crossing guard services in the Sackville area, employing "graduates" of Open Sky.

As a non-profit organization, funding is a constant preoccupation for Hunter.

The co-op brings in some revenue from what they grow and sell on the farm, and receives support form the municipality, the province, the United Way and the community. 

It can be tricky to make the case to support something that's "actually preventing mental health crisis," Hunter said.

"It's hard to know how would this individual be without Open Sky. But if you look at other folks in similar situations that don't have the kinds of supports that come from being part of a community like this, the outcomes can be pretty tragic at times."

Participant George Chappell went through a number of foster homes growing up. 

But he was fortunate to eventually be placed with a foster family in nearby Dorchester, which led him to Open Sky eight years ago.

He's learned culinary, construction and landscaping skills during his time here.

But it's the community that really matters.

"Open Sky got me, got my back," he said. "Every time. It's like a family."