BILLINGS — For families of adults with special needs, finding a place where their loved ones can thrive and gain independence can feel impossible. One Billings family has decided to change that by creating Bernie's Happy Home.
Justin and Stephanie Brown were inspired by their daughter, Bernadette, who lives with a rare genetic disorder yet radiates joy.
Watch the story that inspired Bernie's Happy Home:
Bernadette, who goes by Bernie, was born in 2017.
"We had no idea there was anything going on with her," Stephanie Brown said Wednesday.
Just two months later, everything changed.
"She wasn't maintaining her oxygen, so they did all these studies on her. I mean, they test all the different things," Stephanie Brown said.
The parents spent two weeks in the hospital waiting for answers.
"Turns out after about six weeks of testing that she had Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome," Stephanie Brown said. "Bernie in particular has a partial deletion of her 17th chromosome, so it causes global developmental delays."
But that does not stop Bernie.
"She's fun. She smiles. She has very extreme emotions, and generally that emotion is happy," Stephanie Brown said.
After eight years with Bernie, an important question came up for the family regarding her future.
"How do we give her the independence of that, and then she may not need assistance her whole life. We don't really know what that looks like and most likely that's what the case is," Justin Brown said.
They found other families asking the same thing.
"We started talking to families, and they had the same question with their special needs kids, that when (they become) adults, what's that plan look like?" Justin Brown said.
So, they answered their own question.
"We purchased property in January," Stephanie Brown said.
The property is located off 56th Street West and Hesper Drive on the West End. Bernie's Happy Homes will feature four homes that will house 32 people.
"There's going to be two male homes, two female homes where there, they'll be fully staffed but also family members will be a part of that care," Stephanie Brown said.
"There isn't great resources for that out there, and there's a incredible need for it right now," Justin Brown said.
Stephanie Brown said that need is greater than ever.
"In Yellowstone County, 6,629 people qualify for... someone to help them with living 14 and above," Stephanie Brown said. "Roughly I can find 250 rooms about so that means that's around three percent is being cared for. And so the 97% are on the wait list or don't ever plan on moving out of their home," Brown said.
The mission for the new community is clear.
"The goal behind it is providing a safe and, like, welcoming place for families and people of special needs to find, like, their comfort, their independence," Stephanie Brown said.
The Browns said that community support has been incredible, from donations to companies donating materials and labor.
"The support is really overwhelming in materials that people (are) willing to donate, time and effort that are willing to (donate), specialists in all categories," Justin Brown said.
The Browns hope to break ground in the coming weeks.
