Autism Walk set for this Saturday

Members of Hangout One Happy Place will be walking for autism awareness on Saturday. The nonprofit organization, headquartered in Baldwin, serves as a safe space for children, teens and young adults with autism to socialize and take part in activities such as arts and crafts, games, karaoke singing, and dancing.

The walk will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at Baldwin Harbor Town Park, on Grand Avenue. The day will be all about the Hangout regulars, who will not only walk but also sell raffle tickets and crafts they’ve made, and perform.

Event organizers said the walk’s main purpose is to give the teenagers and young adults with autism a chance to be the center of attention. The facility’s founder and president, Angela Lucas, worked with many of them during her 16 years in the special-education department of the Baldwin school district.

“It all turned into something beyond my wildest dreams,” Lucas said of Hangout One Happy Place. “Some kids may come every day. It’s like a place of love, where they all love each other.”

Lucas, the Herald’s 2020 Person of the Year, founded the organization in 2019. She said it is different from others like it, because she allows the participants to choose the activities they want to take part in. The facility also lends a hand to Baldwin as much as possible.

“We support everybody,” Lucas said. “We were at that Easter egg hunt, we hold food donations — anything there is, we’re there.”

Rishab Dhanjal, 21, who has autism, came to visit the organization last summer to check out the program, and has been there ever since, because, he said its environment makes all of the members feel like family.

“I’ve enjoyed coming, and I’m here every day,” Dhanjal said.

There are some 30 members who come throughout the week, and 12 volunteers. Lucas only has one staff member, her assistant, Daniella Peralta-Santana.

Zoey Davison, a junior at Baldwin High School, began volunteering at the beginning of the school year, after her guidance counselor found out about the opportunities at the facility. “I came in that day, and it was an immediate click,” Davison said. “I didn’t have to try to connect with anyone — they were all so welcoming and loving toward me. It was such a positive and open space for everybody. I’ve come every day that I could since then, and it never feels like I do any work.”

The Autism Walk is the organization’s biggest event of the year.

“It’s their time to shine,” Lucas said of the members. “They’re not walking with their families — they’re out in front, leading the pack. They’ll lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Somebody will play the piano, and they’ve been practicing dance routines.” 

The Autism Walk has grown substantially since it began. Lucas said there were 200 people at the inaugural walk in 2019, and she predicted a huge turnout for this weekend’s event, for which she had already received many donations and gift baskets, and sold lots of T-shirts. She said she was encouraged by the organization’s continued growth, and said the annual walk plays a crucial role in building a sense of community for those with autism.

“To have that acceptance — that’s the goal,” Lucas said. “This (growth) wasn’t something that was in the cards, but to see them all together shows there’s a lot of love with what the walk does.”