HERSHEY, Pa. — The day program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Hope Springs Farm has finally been given the green light to re-open.
Jim Gainer, the executive director at the Farm says the program participants couldn't wait to get back to the facility. He explains, “They were very excited to be able to walk around, interact with the animals, and interact with each other a little bit.”
Welcome back signs with positive messages lined the fences of the farm.
Gainer says, “It wasn’t just virtual anymore, it was real. I think that meant a lot to them today, they really seemed to have a good time.”
Since the beginning of June, the Farm had been holding daily Zoom Farm Parties to keep in touch with the program participants, called Growers. However, up until this week, that was their only way to interact with each other.
During the daily parties, Gainer says, “The beginning is just everybody saying hello to everybody else, it’s really loud and it's chaotic, it’s a lot of fun. And then we do the same thing at the very end; everybody is saying goodbye, everybody is talking over each other. But that is really a part of the zoom parties that really makes it fun for them.”
Gainer says while the Growers loved seeing all their friends virtually, the in-person connection is something that they missed dearly. “They really got to see their friends face to face and participate with their friends – hands on. With the animals, with the gardening, with the crafts and the cooking.”
The farm continues to take all precautions necessary to keep both Growers and staff healthy. They are also making it a priority to teach Growers about social distancing.
“So, we have all these pool noodles around and we teach the Growers what’s the right distance with the pool noodle,'" Gainer says.
The current game plan at Hope Springs Farm is to continue to limit the daily number of program participants to twelve, in four groups of three. The Farm hopes to get back to full capacity someday, but for now, they are doing their best to create a safe and healthy program environment.