Our Home Inn: A Welcoming, Inclusive Experience

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Our home respite inn and support programs will be located in the Batesville/Afton area of Virginia. Nestled in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia’s Wine Country, our respite inn will offer a scenic and inviting experience for year-round guests.

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Our most important goal in building A Mother's Rest in Afton is to invite members of the greater community IN to enjoy our unique and welcoming setting.  We believe inclusion is a fluid, two-way process, and we hope to expand upon the traditional concepts of inclusion through our efforts.  Along with its lodging focus, AMR will supplement existing special needs programs, and fill in service gaps in revolutionary ways, leveraging financial support from many sources.  

 

A Mother’s Rest celebrates individuals of all abilities, and appreciates family heritage and legacy.   The Afton area is the ancestral home of our Founder & Executive Director; seven generations of the Faris family have been rooted to the beautiful landscape of Albemarle and Nelson Counties.  AMR guests are encouraged to explore our National Parks, historic sites, and the breathtaking views of the Piedmont during their stays.

 

A Mother's Rest has both short- and long-term goals, not limited to:

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1. LOCAL OFFICES: We will better serve local families through our ministry with local offices and facilities.

2. RESPITE INN: Our core program will feature a peaceful, comfortable respite inn in the Piedmont tradition exclusively for parents of children with extra needs.

3. COFFEE SHOP/WINE TASTING/BAKERY/FARM MARKET:  AMR is partnering with our friends at Dreamer's, and our planned AMR shops will be staffed by individuals with disabilities.  This will produce revenues for AMR, and will provide desperately needed jobs for people with disabilities in a rural, underserved area.  Eventually, AMR will partner with local wineries and cider mills to enhance the high quality, relaxing atmosphere for our adult guests. Following the model of our friends at Pathfinder Village, Edmeston, NY, we are committed to bringing the outside world into ours, for a rewarding, life-enriching experience. (It is our view that too often, inclusion is implemented as a one-way process; we hope to create a freer, more natural exchange for the benefit of everyone).

4. RAISING APPALACHIA:   AMR hopes to serve meals and provide urgent funding for local special needs families as an important part of our mission.

5. GARDEN MARKET/TEACHING FARM:  AMR will develop its own teaching farm to grow and sell fruit and vegetables. Eventually, the teaching farm will include a rescue facility/petting farm, combined with a therapy animals program, to provide individuals with opportunities for positive, emotional development.

6. DAY PROGRAMS:  AMR foresees starting private educational and social day programs for adults, and enriching summer programs for children. Members of our faith families in Batesville and Afton, as well as our local civic partners, will add greatly to these exciting and enriching programs.

7. RETIREMENT COMMUNITY:   The needs of aging parents of people with disabilities are not adequately considered, and they would benefit greatly from a residential community adjacent to where their adult children receive services. This revolutionary community design concept, through which parents may purchase a home, would provide peace of mind, and allow them the freedoms of a planned community and the blessings of remaining involved in their child's daily life and care.