Puzzle Pieces held an open house Tuesday night and invited the community to check out its new space that is — in one word — huge.
In fact, the entire building located at 2401 New Hartford Rd. contains 26,000 square feet of space, with each corner and every room being utilized to offer Puzzle Pieces clients the best experience possible.
Approximately 1,730 hours of volunteer work from more than 80 community members went toward moving into the new campus. Before the space opened, many of Puzzle Pieces’ programs were held in separate locations across town. Everything is now under one roof, making things easier for the clients and staff.
“It’s been a transition of phases,” said Director Amanda Owen. “Our first program to move in was the vocational program on Oct. 15. Our social community program moved here from Frederica Street on Nov. 15. We’ve been in operation of all of those clients, and then our new programs will start April 1.”
The Owen Autism Center is expected to open in April and will provide services for up to 80 additional clients ranging from 18-month-olds to 21-year-olds.
“Our inclusive early intervention program (in the Owen Autism Center) hasn’t even opened, and our referral list is crazy,” Owen said. “The need for that is serious, and all of that was grant-funded to start from the Marilyn Young Foundation.”
The grant was for $30,000 and helped purchase furniture and learning materials while also supporting a sensory room.
The sensory rooms are a new implementation for Puzzle Pieces and are designed to help support those with disabilities — especially autism. Puzzle Pieces now has four sensory rooms — more than any other place in the region, according to Public Relations Director Ashley Wedding.
Clients who get overstimulated or frustrated can take a 10-15 minute break in a sensory room to calm down. Black and white rooms are offered at Puzzle Pieces, and clients can choose which ones to sit inside. Soft blue and white lighting hangs from the ceiling and across the walls, while lit-up bubble machines provide relaxing sounds in the background.
Another prominent new addition is a theatre room with approximately 40 reclinable chairs for clients.
“This was an anonymous family donor that donated money for us to create this as a movie theatre,” Owen said. “They love some movies. And we have our dance parties in here, and we have karaoke in here, so this is kind of our jam.”
A spacious recreation room provides a ball pit, swings, exercise machines, a classroom, a sound-proof room and many items clients can use to stay physically active.
The theatre and rec rooms are both also used to educate their clients about important life skills such as cleaning up after themselves, healthy eating and physical exercise.
