{"id":639,"date":"2021-01-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nice-cori.104-207-151-122.plesk.page\/?p=639"},"modified":"2021-01-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T00:00:00","slug":"circle-of-friends-offers-safe-community-job-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/circle-of-friends-offers-safe-community-job-opportunities","title":{"rendered":"Around Woodstock | Circle of Friends Offers Safe Community, Job Opportunities | Woodstock GA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alex Bends loves her job as barista.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alex Bends, a member of Circle of Friends<\/a>, lives life with several disabilities. She is autistic, bipolar, and has Crohn\u2019s disease, along with other challenges. After feeling broken and like the weird kid, she said everything changed for her when she found the nonprofit Circle of Friends. \u201cNow I don\u2019t have to wonder if someone\u2019s out there, if someone understands me. Now I have a whole community of people who do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to live in sterile hospitals,\u201d Alex said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to live in buildings where everything we do is monitored and controlled. We want freedom. We want to be normal. We are humans, and we deserve to be treated as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Circle of Friends (COF) exists to transform environments of isolation into communities of inclusion by creating opportunities for connection, purpose and belonging in three ways:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Social engagement (visit circleoffriendsinc.org<\/a> for bi-monthly meeting details)
\n2.<\/strong> Supportive employment
\n3.<\/strong> Affordable community housing<\/h4>\n

\u201cThese days the world needs a community like Mayberry,\u201d said Stephen Taylor, executive director of COF. \u201cA return to simpler times, where everyone is included, cares for each other and has their place.\u201d Stephen, born profoundly deaf, understands the daily challenges of living with a disability. He has dedicated his life to bridging the gaps between the disabilities community, the church, and the world. Building a modern day Mayberry through COF, where people like Alex can flourish, fuels his passion to keep serving.<\/p>\n

Circle of Friends began in 2010 with the first goal \u2014 social gatherings. Led by Diane and Glenn Keen (COF co-founders) they meet at Hickory Flat United Methodist Church. A group of parents and their children, with unique needs, gets together twice a month to socialize and go on outings. Diane holds a doctorate of nursing degree from Kennesaw State University and has committed all of her research to the field of intergenerational, supportive living communities for adults with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Diane and Glenn\u2019s son, Haden, has high-functioning autism and is an active member of Circle of Friends. After a Town Hall held in the summer of 2019 at Hickory Flat UMC, a survey of the young adults was made to guide the development of goal No. 3: affordable community housing. Work is underway to make that happen.<\/p>\n

To meet the second goal of supportive employment, COF is opening a coffee shop inside The Circuit<\/a>, Cherokee County\u2019s first co-working space located in Chattahoochee Technical College at One Innovation Way, in downtown Woodstock. If all goes as planned, the grand opening will happen Feb. 15. The caf\u00e9 will serve Cherokee-based Alma Coffee<\/a> and will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays \u2013 Fridays. The shop also will feature a variety of signature teas and smoothies along with seasonal baked goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cCircle of Friend\u2019s commitment to serving the special needs community brings a unique synergy to The Circuit,\u201d said COED President Misti Martin. \u201cCentered around a student center and supportive coworking community, the new caf\u00e9 will thrive with the support of entrepreneurs and young people that work in the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

COF\u2019s Alex is thrilled about her new job as a barista.<\/p>\n

Another friend and barista, Bryan Nance, said, \u201cCircle of Friends gives me a chance to make new friends. With the coffee shop opening I will be able to have a job and learn new skills and become more independent. I look forward to the time the housing is built to be able to live on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

To donate or learn more about how to become a part of this life-changing endeavor, visit: circleoffriendsinc.org <\/a>or email: info@circleoffriendsinc.org<\/a>. Like and share their Facebook and Instagram pages @CircleofFriends.LivingwithPurpose.<\/p>\n

By Susan Schulz, a wife, mom, writer and mentor who lives and plays along the Etowah River in Canton. She loves serving at Woodstock City Church.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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At The Circuit Cafe, this circle of friends are, from left: Joanne Salomone, board member; Diane Keen, founder; Alex Bends, barista; Stephen Taylor, executive director; Bryan Nance, barista.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Alex Bends loves her job as barista. Alex Bends, a member of Circle of Friends, lives life with several disabilities. She is autistic, bipolar, and has Crohn\u2019s disease, along with other challenges. After feeling broken and like the weird kid, she said everything changed for her when she found the nonprofit Circle of Friends. \u201cNow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-secondary"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"aroundwoodstoc","author_link":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/author\/aroundwoodstoc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}