April 29, 2025 • 36 mins
April is National Autism Acceptance Month. And in honor of it, we wanted to bring back to you one of our most compelling episodes about autism, with Army member Stacy Horst. Her daughter Erin was bullied and excluded by her peers because she had autism, which led to taking her own life at 17 years old. Only four days later, Stacy and her husband Darren heroically decided that they would do everything in their power to prevent any other family from going through this. Their non-profit, Erin’s Hope for Friends, opened a physical location called “e’s Club” where more than 400 teens and young adults with autism go on the weekends and build friendships.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue with part two of our conversation with
Stacy Horst. Right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors,
(00:29):
let's talk about those kids. Sixty one percent of kids
with level one autism fall subject to bullying and social isolation.
Sixty six three out of five kids that are already
struggling with having autism are bullied and subject social isolation,
(00:52):
with depression rates and suicidal thoughts fifty percent higher, and
children with level one autism than the general population, meaning
that there's a large number of kids with autism trying
to mainstream and get through life, handling their difficulties and
(01:13):
their families along with them. And there's a bunch of
those kids that are having suicidal thoughts because they're so
sad and so isolated as a result of the people
around them.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Bullying them one out of ten as a has suicidal
tendencies one out of ten. Then you know, in Tennessee, Florida,
right now, there's diagnosed roughly four hundred and thirty five
thousand autistic adults, and that can be an eighteen year old.
(01:44):
So if Tennessee has one hundred and forty five thousand.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Okay, so if you're in Florida said four thirty five yep,
ten percent. That means there's forty three thousand suicidal autistic
people in the state of Florida right now. That's what
the mouth says.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Oh yeah, well that's I mean, they have suicidal thoughts.
And I think in level one when we go back
to what you were talking about before, in terms of
level one, two and three.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
And I am not.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
A psychologist or a psychiatrist, I don't play one on TV.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
I you know, level one.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
They're more aware of what's going on around them, I believe,
and they're more aware of.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
The isolation, which makes them probably more susceptible to suicidal
tendencies because much like my brother in law Ben, they're
high enough functioning they see it. So honestly, if you're
sitting here listening to us, should I before even get
(02:55):
to the there is redemption coming everybody. It's not. That's
all ball listening to this day. But if you didn't
tear up here in the story so far, something's wrong
with you. This should be a call. There should be
a call to parents. If you have kids and you're
(03:20):
blessed with happy, healthy, completely functional, normal kids without a
whole bunch of stuff. For goodness sakes, talk to them.
Explain to him that sometimes there are people around you
that aren't just like you, but they are most deserving
of our grace and our understanding. Talk to your kids,
(03:41):
because we could fix a lot of this if just
parents would have kids have a more understanding, graceful heart
about people around them that may look or act a
little differently.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
So that's one. Number two is Aaron's story is the
one we are learning about no today. But the data
shows that Aaron's story is not at all a one off.
And unfortunately, Aaron's story also puts a light on the
fact that there are a lot of people who are
(04:17):
probably quietly and may be very maybe even unknown, having
suicidal thoughts as a result of their isolation. They're pulling
and the way people around them treat them. Absolutely, they're
not creating they're not thinking of committing suicide because of
(04:38):
the autism. They're thinking creating suicide because of how people
treat them, because they have something that they didn't ask
for and that they're trying to deal with in their life,
which if you think about the depth of that is heartbreaking.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It's very heartbreaking, and a lot of them choose to
be isolated because that's the only way they can be,
which I think is wrong too, because so many of
them they're persons. Some of the friends that Aaron did
have Every year on the anniversary of her death, they
reach out and which you know, I think is beautiful,
(05:17):
and they are all on the spectrum. And even this
year in January, one of them she said, I just
choose to be by myself.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Because at least when she's by herself, she doesn't get
rid of killed.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, and she knows what to expect, right. We all
we're all creatures of habit in our lives and want
normalacy and schedule. And it's kind of like knowing when
you come into work most of the time, you know
what's going to happen today. You know there's going to
be something different here and there, but not on a
(05:56):
major scale.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So we all have of you know.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The ability to go through life and it's just going
to be kind of going along except for the bumps
in the road, where I think they sometimes isolate themselves
because they don't they don't want to have to deal with.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
More bumps than we have. Because if you put.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yourself out there and you get shot down, you put
yourself out there and nobody pays attention to you. You
put yourself out there, nobody talks to you. Then why
do it?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well? And imagine and.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
There's a great there's a great lesson when we get
to the other part, the redemption part.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We're getting there now.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
There are great lessons and all of that.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So back to that fourth day you are and I
interrupted you because I just had this visceral reaction to
I'd honestly do not know how you got through that.
But on that day you side to be a rock.
Tell me what that being a rock looks like and
(07:07):
what you decided and what that was.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Well, I can tell you one thing that without our faith.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
This wouldn't have happened. There's no way.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Couples who lose a child one in four get divorced
and very quickly because of the trauma and everything else.
We just we sat down on the floor again and
realized that there has to be something that we can
do to bring these kids out of isolation, to be
(07:48):
able to have a place that they can go on
the weekends when they're being isolated from the rest of
the world, to have fun, to just go be who
they are, whether you know that's sitting there for three months,
which we had one one gentleman, do you know, And
(08:13):
so it kind of it started from there, and we
thought about somewhere fun like Dave and Busters, where you
can go and just play games, just be no therapy,
absolutely none, somewhere where there are no parents because oh yeah,
(08:36):
because as parents and those people who are listening and
you parent of an autistic child, you or a child
with special needs, as they're growing up, you continue to
try and help them and part of that helping is correction.
(08:57):
And we didn't want this to have anything.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
To do with that.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
It's just a place where they can come hang out.
No parents, nobody correcting themal.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely little kids.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah. And one of the lessons that we learned in
that is, you know, as a parent, you take your
kids to all these things ptot, social skills groups, you
name it whatever. In the last eight years, nine years,
(09:35):
we've learned that. And this is my analogy, so nobody
throw rocks at me. But anyway, I call our members
our square pegs, and you know, it's like you take
your kids to all this type of therapy, trying to
take a square peg and fit it in a round
hole to make them normal so that they can be
(09:58):
out in the world with what we call normal or
neurotypical individuals, when really all they've ever needed this whole
time is to be with each other. They all they
don't care about their quirks.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
They don't care.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
We have thirty two kids with one staff bert well
two staff members now and eight volunteers, and they can
flit around the room. They can do whatever they want
and nobody cares, and they.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Have a ball and if they don't look somebody in
the eyes will hell, everybody there understands.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Why Yep, it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I get you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
So we so we decided to create a five O,
one C three. We didn't know what that would look like,
and we came up with the tied Aaron's Hope for
Friends because she always hoped for a good friend. And
as my husband has said, if Aaron had had one
(11:04):
good friend, she'd probably still be here.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And so you called it Aaron's Hope for Friends Foundation,
so that her memory, at least and her legacy would
be that people like her would have that one friend
or more.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Or more and date so and go to prom We'll
be right back. The mission is to create lasting relationships
(11:48):
through joyful interaction. So it's to allow these teens and
now young adults. We are now moving into adults. We're
also potentially looking at some point maybe doing younger kids.
But we just wanted that place where they could come
together and they could feel safe and they could hang
(12:12):
out with each other. So we created E's Club e
Apostrophe S Club that's what the names of the clubs are.
And it is like a mini Dave and Busters. You
walk in, it has ping pong, air hockey, pool tables,
ski ball, video gaming, and art session.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Yeah it's actual money.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Oh yeah, most definitely. Oh yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You went out and so you actually built EA's Club.
Is actually not a group of people, It.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Is a physical place.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So tell me about it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
So the first year we started the five O one
C three, we had our first fundraiser. She passed away
in January. We had our first fundraiser June twenty eighth
because that was her birthday. Wow, and so we said
it was her birthday party and we.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Gosh, I'm trying to.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Remember how much money we raised. I mean at that
point in time, which was twenty fifteen, it roughly cost
us about seventy to eighty thousand dollars to open the
physical space. So it is an actual physical open space
with everything that I just talked about in more. And
(13:40):
then we just continued every year with as we do now,
with a fund you know, a big fundraiser a Gallo,
which we just had, and we do other fundraisers throughout
the year, and grants and everything else to Our goal
was to be in every state in the United States
(14:02):
by twenty twenty five, but unfortunately COVID that oh well
it sloaded down, it like squashed it a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So but does exist in Georgia.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yes, it exists.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So the first club was in Alpharetta, Georgia. Then we
opened the second club in Ackworth, Georgia. So we had
two clubs and we had four other states that we
were in contact with that they were interested individuals who
(14:38):
wanted to open East Club in those other four states.
And then COVID came and we couldn't meet in person
any longer, so we ended up we do not own
these properties. We lease them the build out and everything
that's in it.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Well, the first one was very grad.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Roots, as you can imagine, but we try to get
everything donated, even the buildouts, as much as we can
so we can use the monies that we raise for programming.
And we ended up having to close both of those
because we couldn't meet in person.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
But before COVID you went from twenty six kids to
two years later, three hundred and seventy kids.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Up to this point, we've helped fifteen hundred children, teens,
young adults.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
We have both I want to share three quotes which
speaks to the fifteen hundred people you've helped. A dad
about his son. He doesn't feel pressure, He's not afraid
to say something that someone is going to make fun
of him. For another dad, my daughter always said, I
(16:00):
just wish other kids were like me. Now she has that,
she's surrounded by other kids like her. It means the
world to her. She wouldn't miss it for anything in
the world. A kid a teen, I feel a little
bit more open here than I am at school. It's
easier to interact with people who are similar to me
than to force being normal around others. I'm just glad
(16:24):
I can hang out with other people on the spectrum
understand me better than all the kids at my school day.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yep, that's it right, that's it in a nutshell, in
a nutshell, yeah, No, it's at our galla.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
We had a young adult. She got up and.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Spoke about her experience in the young adult program. And
it's not just when I talked before about those AHAs
and those lessons that we've learned. This isn't just about
EA's Club, because when we had to shut those doors
within a month, we went virtual.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Still have virtual today.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And we have teens and young adults from around the
country and Canada who are part of the virtual program now,
which we're not going to get away. That's not going
to go away now that we're back in person. But
at the event, this young lady talked and her dad
(17:25):
came up to me afterwards with just tears rolling down
his face, and he came up to me, he hugged me,
and he says, you don't know how much you've helped me,
and you've helped my family, and that makes it. That's it,
that's everything, And it's not just a fifteen hundred. It's
a respite for the parents. The parents can drop their
(17:49):
kids off and have three hours to themselves, to go
to dinner, to go to a movie, to just sit,
to spend time with the other kids who like my family,
I had a neurotypical daughter and I had Aaron who
was on the spectrum. What it would have been like
(18:09):
for Aaron to be able to go and hang out
and make friends with other kids and we could spend time.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
With Rachel by yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
The other lesson is is that we have we use
National Charity League and Young Men's Service League for our
volunteer base, not solely, but they are the largest majority,
and the it's moms and daughters and moms and sons.
And when they walk in the door and you think
about you were asking about you know, level one to
(18:42):
level three, and they hear, oh, I'm going to a
club to work with autistic teens and young adults. Well,
most people the first place they go is three. So
you know they're thinking, well, are they going to be
non verbal? Like how do I talk to them?
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You know they going to get.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Upset, what are they going to do? And they come
in like deer in the headlights. They have to be
there thirty minutes prior and we just kind of tell them,
you know, we just want you to engage everybody. If
you see somebody sitting by themselves, ask them if they
want to play pool or you know whatever. By the
time they leave, they come up to us and they're like,
(19:22):
oh my gosh, I've had this is the most fun
I've ever had.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Do you know Antonio he.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Is hystericle, you know, I mean, they just they have
a blast. And it's so it's become an educational experience
for those folks who come in as volunteers because now
they see our kids in a different.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Way, normal folks that were just like you before you
had an autistic kid.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Yes, but they walk away with an appreciation of who
these kids are.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
So you got the virtual and you've reopened Where is
this thing? Now? Where are we now?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Right now? We opened our club in Woodstock, Georgia, So
we have an East club in Woodstock, Georgia. In November eleventh,
we'll be opening our first charter in Lexington, Kentucky. That's
where Aaron was born, so it's really that's special. But
(20:23):
you know, our goal right now is to have ten
clubs open by twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And you have two we have to and a virtual
and virtual. How many people are served by virtual and
how many will be served by these two clubs?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
About about well you can have so Virtual is once
a week. Teens are Friday and Saturday nights. Young adults
right now are Sunday nights. Eventually we will fill out
the programming through the week with other things that there
are so many needs now that we've realized for all
(21:02):
of them, adults and teens that I mean, even how
to ask somebody out on a date. How oh yeah, No,
We've had kids go to prom together. I mean, it's
just I can't the stories I could tell, well, tell
them they're just I mean, it's just so great. Well, Antonio,
(21:25):
who was funny. We had a sixteen year old girl
who would come and volunteer, and she went to high
school with Antonio. And the one thing that just melted
my heart is she said, when I see Antonio in
the hallway, I always stop and talk to him. He's
the funniest guy I've ever met. Well, let me tell you,
there aren't a lot of neurotypical kids who are going
(21:46):
to stop in the hallway in high school. Out of
twenty five hundred kids in a public high school.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
And talk to a kid on the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
But the reason she did that was because as she
came and she saw and she saw how real and
fun and bright. I mean one of the kids that
we had, he was ranked one hundred and eighty first
in chess in the United States. Wow, and my husband
tried to play him multiple times.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
We'll be right back, we returned. When I asked Stacy
about how many folks come to East Clubs.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Well, I mean, it depends on their programming. So if
you have sixty four, you can have thirty two kids
per night. So that's sixty sixty four on a weekend.
That's just for teens, right, that doesn't include young adults.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
And we're open forty eight weeks out of the year.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
And then don't ask me to do that math virtual
virtual right now, roughly about twenty per night, And don't
forget that the parents are being served. And I've when
I've met parents, they've come up to me and told
me about their children being suicidal and or attempting to
(23:26):
take their life.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
And now they're still here.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
No, and as a result of this that it's helped
because they've found a place that's safe, they've found a
place that they can go be themselves to the quotes
that you stated, and not have to worry about being
bullied or made fun of, and everyone.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Accepts each other.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And that's that square peg in the round hole that
I was talking about we really didn't need, which breaks
my art as a mom to try and force that
square peg in a round hole where really all the
square pegs just need to come together and have fun.
(24:13):
And these kids end up calling each other outside of
the club.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
They end up meeting each other and doing things.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
What kids do exactly because they have a safe place
to do it.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yeah, but they meet each other in that safe place,
and then it grows from there. The friendship grows, which
is our mission and that it can be a lasting friendship.
We just had two people who met on virtual and
forgive me, I don't remember where everybody lives. Oh well,
the one in Canada and another one in Pennsylvania. I
(24:49):
think the parents got together and the one was going
on vacation and the parents brought them together so they
could meet in.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Person and they got to hang out. How cool is that?
Speaker 1 (25:04):
That is cool? So cool? I can't quit thinking what
Darren said that if Aaron had one of these interactions,
she'd be with you today and you are literally saving
lives in Aaron's memory, which, in the coolest sense, is
probably her legacy.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I hope, So we hope.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So that's phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We want this to be on the same level as
the Boys and Girls Club. We want that legacy because
of all these kids in the United States, all these
young adults, adults. I mean, there's so many needs that
we can continue to talk about beyond what we've already found,
(25:50):
which we're going to work on. But this can be
a space that's open seven days a week for all
different types of things to help all these individuals feel complete,
feel whole, whole, safe, yes, and productive.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So you said earlier, by twenty twenty six, you plan
on having ten.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
E clubs clubs, yeah, rightes, yes.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
And and you want to go you want to be
as big as the Boys and Girls Club.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
That's our goal.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
That would be one in every city. Yes, So how
do you get there?
Speaker 3 (26:38):
That's a good question. Who's out there that can help me?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That's what I want to know, which is that's a
good question.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Which is exactly what you emailed me, which was, now
I can tell everybody you ill me Hey, this is
what it was, so quick and to the point. I
love an army and normal folks. I love what you're
or sharing. I love the stories. My daughter had autism
(27:07):
and took her life, and this is what we've done
because of that. You sent me a link, and we
just want to get the world out to create more
of these places for kids all over the country. It's
what you said to me in your email. I don't
know if you remember, but I read it today. Yeah,
what do you need? It sounds like you need people.
(27:29):
It sounds like you need families that are struggling with
the same things you guys were struggling with with a
child with autism, and you need them to call you
and learn how it's done and get involved.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Absolutely, it'll roughly to get to ten by ten, ten
by twenty twenty six. I mean it's probably about two
and a half million dollars. It takes us roughly about
one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to
run a club for a year, and that's including staff.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So it's.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
It's daunting, but we'll do it.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
You know, it's a lot, but it's actually not a lot.
I mean, it's a lot of money. But with all
of the riches available to people in this world looking
for good quality things to do that actually do change
and save lives, I've got to believe there's people hearing
(28:26):
this right now that are like, oh, yeah, I want
to do that, or I have an autism person in
my family, or I know somebody that does. And what
an amazing mission that you and and I mean, you're
still right, You're you're working, right, You've got a life.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, still working.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Still working in still working, doing your thing. So the
other part to this is beyond the ten thousand. Exactly
what you said was think of all of the families
and all of the rachels who are being post affected
by this too. I mean, this thing just has tentacles
that are far reaching to every community that it's in.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Oh absolutely, I mean just the families, just like the
dad who came up to me two weeks ago in tears.
You know, it's helped them because it helped their child,
therefore it helped the family. I mean, it is a
trickle effect.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, I think also maybe it can serve to be
a conduit to for their education. To people who don't
deal with autism and their family and their childs to
just understand that this is a very real thing and
it's not trivial and it shouldn't be made fun of.
And as parents, we have a responsibility to teach our
(29:47):
children better.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Absolutely we do.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I agree, And that's why I love that we bring
the volunteer base in who gets that education in person
and get you how see these kids and how funny
and smart and I mean.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
It's just there's there's so Like.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You said, I love the octopus and the tentacles because
that's we we created. The head of the octopus and
the tentacles are just coming out. And the things that
we're learning and the things that we can do through
Aaron's Hope and through Ease Club, and the number of
people that we can reach not only the autistic kids
(30:32):
but beyond is it's unlimited because we learn something new
every day.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Aaron's Hope for Friends Foundation, anybody who's listened that wants
to be involved, or who is struck by this and says,
this is something I want to do and can do.
Who do they call? How do they do it?
Speaker 3 (30:54):
They can call me?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
How does that work? Do they call you? Email you?
How to get me?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
They can call me at six seven eight seven three.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Nine nine nine nine nine. They can email me at
Stacyhorst at kW dot com. S T A C Y
h O R s T at k W dot com.
You can reach out to our website, which is Aaron's
Hope for Friends dot org. There's a contact page you
(31:24):
can fill that out. You can also send an email
to info at Aaron's Hope for Friends dot org.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
If there's ever a calling for an army of normal
folks to get involved, this is it, because that's what's
going to fix it. The government's not going to fix it.
Talking about it's not going to fix it. Nothing's going
to fix it, but just somebody like you and Darren
who said our children deserve better, and your rock and
(31:58):
I am just beyond and amazed by how you've taken
the most traumatic thing that could have ever happened to
you in your life and turned it into a positive
and honor of your daughter so that her legacy lives
on in a purposeful way. It is a phenomenal story
(32:22):
of sadness and depth and redemption and hope. And you know, nobody,
nobody tabbed you and said go do this. Nobody gave
you a foundation and so go do it. You're just
a normal mom and a normal life raising two kids
(32:45):
the best you know how whoo who very personally felt
and saw a need as a result of some great
sadness and decided to fill it. And you're saving and
changing lives and helping families as a result of it.
And I am beyond honored to have talked to you
(33:06):
about it, And thank you so much for sharing in
depth the very personal side of the of your story
so that people can really understand the importance of what
you're doing. I am it's the first one I've teared
up in and I've heard some stories, And thank you
for being the very first of our organic guests. So
(33:29):
you are you, You are, you are, You will be
deep in the history of an army of normal folks forever.
Thank you so much for coming to Memphis and sharing
your story with us and all the amazing work you're doing.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Stacey, Well, thank you so much for having me and
what you're doing with the podcast, because it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Thanks very much, and thank you for joining us this week.
If Stacy or another guest has inspired you in general
or better, you have to take action by starting an
East club, or by donating to Aaron's Hope for Friends,
or something else entirely. Please let me know I'd love
(34:10):
to hear about it. You can write me anytime at
Bill at Normalfolks dot us and I will respond. You
know a special note after this episode. If you heard
what you've just heard and aren't inspired to talk about
any kids in your family, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and certainly
your kids, this story should certainly awaken us to the
(34:36):
desperation felt by some due to bullying and exclusion. We
have responsibility, y'all. We have responsibility raise our kids with
an empathetic heart and an understanding about the dangers of
bullying and the importance of inclusion. I hope you'll think
about Aaron next time you see your own children, pray
(35:00):
that they never have to go through what she went through,
and also take action to teach and foster a level
of empathy and understanding and love in our kids' hearts.
And I hope this story motivates you to, at the
very least do that. If you enjoyed this episode, share
it with friends and on social subscribe to the podcast,
(35:23):
rate it, review it, become a premium number at normal
Folks dot us. All these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks for our premium members
will have bonus content from this episode and it's actually
the hilarious story about how Stacy and her husband Darren met,
and if you don't want to miss it, become a
(35:44):
Premium member today. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsor
at iron Light Laps. I'm Bill Courtney. I'll see you
next week.
Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue with part two of our conversation with
Stacy Horst. Right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors,
(00:29):
let's talk about those kids. Sixty one percent of kids
with level one autism fall subject to bullying and social isolation.
Sixty six three out of five kids that are already
struggling with having autism are bullied and subject social isolation,
(00:52):
with depression rates and suicidal thoughts fifty percent higher, and
children with level one autism than the general population, meaning
that there's a large number of kids with autism trying
to mainstream and get through life, handling their difficulties and
(01:13):
their families along with them. And there's a bunch of
those kids that are having suicidal thoughts because they're so
sad and so isolated as a result of the people
around them.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Bullying them one out of ten as a has suicidal
tendencies one out of ten. Then you know, in Tennessee, Florida,
right now, there's diagnosed roughly four hundred and thirty five
thousand autistic adults, and that can be an eighteen year old.
(01:44):
So if Tennessee has one hundred and forty five thousand.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Okay, so if you're in Florida said four thirty five yep,
ten percent. That means there's forty three thousand suicidal autistic
people in the state of Florida right now. That's what
the mouth says.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Oh yeah, well that's I mean, they have suicidal thoughts.
And I think in level one when we go back
to what you were talking about before, in terms of
level one, two and three.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
And I am not.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
A psychologist or a psychiatrist, I don't play one on TV.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
I you know, level one.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
They're more aware of what's going on around them, I believe,
and they're more aware of.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
The isolation, which makes them probably more susceptible to suicidal
tendencies because much like my brother in law Ben, they're
high enough functioning they see it. So honestly, if you're
sitting here listening to us, should I before even get
(02:55):
to the there is redemption coming everybody. It's not. That's
all ball listening to this day. But if you didn't
tear up here in the story so far, something's wrong
with you. This should be a call. There should be
a call to parents. If you have kids and you're
(03:20):
blessed with happy, healthy, completely functional, normal kids without a
whole bunch of stuff. For goodness sakes, talk to them.
Explain to him that sometimes there are people around you
that aren't just like you, but they are most deserving
of our grace and our understanding. Talk to your kids,
(03:41):
because we could fix a lot of this if just
parents would have kids have a more understanding, graceful heart
about people around them that may look or act a
little differently.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
So that's one. Number two is Aaron's story is the
one we are learning about no today. But the data
shows that Aaron's story is not at all a one off.
And unfortunately, Aaron's story also puts a light on the
fact that there are a lot of people who are
(04:17):
probably quietly and may be very maybe even unknown, having
suicidal thoughts as a result of their isolation. They're pulling
and the way people around them treat them. Absolutely, they're
not creating they're not thinking of committing suicide because of
(04:38):
the autism. They're thinking creating suicide because of how people
treat them, because they have something that they didn't ask
for and that they're trying to deal with in their life,
which if you think about the depth of that is heartbreaking.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It's very heartbreaking, and a lot of them choose to
be isolated because that's the only way they can be,
which I think is wrong too, because so many of
them they're persons. Some of the friends that Aaron did
have Every year on the anniversary of her death, they
reach out and which you know, I think is beautiful,
(05:17):
and they are all on the spectrum. And even this
year in January, one of them she said, I just
choose to be by myself.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Because at least when she's by herself, she doesn't get
rid of killed.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, and she knows what to expect, right. We all
we're all creatures of habit in our lives and want
normalacy and schedule. And it's kind of like knowing when
you come into work most of the time, you know
what's going to happen today. You know there's going to
be something different here and there, but not on a
(05:56):
major scale.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So we all have of you know.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The ability to go through life and it's just going
to be kind of going along except for the bumps
in the road, where I think they sometimes isolate themselves
because they don't they don't want to have to deal with.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
More bumps than we have. Because if you put.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yourself out there and you get shot down, you put
yourself out there and nobody pays attention to you. You
put yourself out there, nobody talks to you. Then why
do it?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well? And imagine and.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
There's a great there's a great lesson when we get
to the other part, the redemption part.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
We're getting there now.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
There are great lessons and all of that.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So back to that fourth day you are and I
interrupted you because I just had this visceral reaction to
I'd honestly do not know how you got through that.
But on that day you side to be a rock.
Tell me what that being a rock looks like and
(07:07):
what you decided and what that was.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Well, I can tell you one thing that without our faith.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
This wouldn't have happened. There's no way.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Couples who lose a child one in four get divorced
and very quickly because of the trauma and everything else.
We just we sat down on the floor again and
realized that there has to be something that we can
do to bring these kids out of isolation, to be
(07:48):
able to have a place that they can go on
the weekends when they're being isolated from the rest of
the world, to have fun, to just go be who
they are, whether you know that's sitting there for three months,
which we had one one gentleman, do you know, And
(08:13):
so it kind of it started from there, and we
thought about somewhere fun like Dave and Busters, where you
can go and just play games, just be no therapy,
absolutely none, somewhere where there are no parents because oh yeah,
(08:36):
because as parents and those people who are listening and
you parent of an autistic child, you or a child
with special needs, as they're growing up, you continue to
try and help them and part of that helping is correction.
(08:57):
And we didn't want this to have anything.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
To do with that.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
It's just a place where they can come hang out.
No parents, nobody correcting themal.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely little kids.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah. And one of the lessons that we learned in
that is, you know, as a parent, you take your
kids to all these things ptot, social skills groups, you
name it whatever. In the last eight years, nine years,
(09:35):
we've learned that. And this is my analogy, so nobody
throw rocks at me. But anyway, I call our members
our square pegs, and you know, it's like you take
your kids to all this type of therapy, trying to
take a square peg and fit it in a round
hole to make them normal so that they can be
(09:58):
out in the world with what we call normal or
neurotypical individuals, when really all they've ever needed this whole
time is to be with each other. They all they
don't care about their quirks.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
They don't care.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
We have thirty two kids with one staff bert well
two staff members now and eight volunteers, and they can
flit around the room. They can do whatever they want
and nobody cares, and they.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Have a ball and if they don't look somebody in
the eyes will hell, everybody there understands.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Why Yep, it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I get you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
So we so we decided to create a five O,
one C three. We didn't know what that would look like,
and we came up with the tied Aaron's Hope for
Friends because she always hoped for a good friend. And
as my husband has said, if Aaron had had one
(11:04):
good friend, she'd probably still be here.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And so you called it Aaron's Hope for Friends Foundation,
so that her memory, at least and her legacy would
be that people like her would have that one friend
or more.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Or more and date so and go to prom We'll
be right back. The mission is to create lasting relationships
(11:48):
through joyful interaction. So it's to allow these teens and
now young adults. We are now moving into adults. We're
also potentially looking at some point maybe doing younger kids.
But we just wanted that place where they could come
together and they could feel safe and they could hang
(12:12):
out with each other. So we created E's Club e
Apostrophe S Club that's what the names of the clubs are.
And it is like a mini Dave and Busters. You
walk in, it has ping pong, air hockey, pool tables,
ski ball, video gaming, and art session.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Yeah it's actual money.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Oh yeah, most definitely. Oh yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You went out and so you actually built EA's Club.
Is actually not a group of people, It.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Is a physical place.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So tell me about it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
So the first year we started the five O one
C three, we had our first fundraiser. She passed away
in January. We had our first fundraiser June twenty eighth
because that was her birthday. Wow, and so we said
it was her birthday party and we.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Gosh, I'm trying to.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Remember how much money we raised. I mean at that
point in time, which was twenty fifteen, it roughly cost
us about seventy to eighty thousand dollars to open the
physical space. So it is an actual physical open space
with everything that I just talked about in more. And
(13:40):
then we just continued every year with as we do now,
with a fund you know, a big fundraiser a Gallo,
which we just had, and we do other fundraisers throughout
the year, and grants and everything else to Our goal
was to be in every state in the United States
(14:02):
by twenty twenty five, but unfortunately COVID that oh well
it sloaded down, it like squashed it a little bit.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So but does exist in Georgia.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yes, it exists.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So the first club was in Alpharetta, Georgia. Then we
opened the second club in Ackworth, Georgia. So we had
two clubs and we had four other states that we
were in contact with that they were interested individuals who
(14:38):
wanted to open East Club in those other four states.
And then COVID came and we couldn't meet in person
any longer, so we ended up we do not own
these properties. We lease them the build out and everything
that's in it.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Well, the first one was very grad.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Roots, as you can imagine, but we try to get
everything donated, even the buildouts, as much as we can
so we can use the monies that we raise for programming.
And we ended up having to close both of those
because we couldn't meet in person.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
But before COVID you went from twenty six kids to
two years later, three hundred and seventy kids.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Up to this point, we've helped fifteen hundred children, teens,
young adults.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
We have both I want to share three quotes which
speaks to the fifteen hundred people you've helped. A dad
about his son. He doesn't feel pressure, He's not afraid
to say something that someone is going to make fun
of him. For another dad, my daughter always said, I
(16:00):
just wish other kids were like me. Now she has that,
she's surrounded by other kids like her. It means the
world to her. She wouldn't miss it for anything in
the world. A kid a teen, I feel a little
bit more open here than I am at school. It's
easier to interact with people who are similar to me
than to force being normal around others. I'm just glad
(16:24):
I can hang out with other people on the spectrum
understand me better than all the kids at my school day.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yep, that's it right, that's it in a nutshell, in
a nutshell, yeah, No, it's at our galla.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
We had a young adult. She got up and.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Spoke about her experience in the young adult program. And
it's not just when I talked before about those AHAs
and those lessons that we've learned. This isn't just about
EA's Club, because when we had to shut those doors
within a month, we went virtual.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Still have virtual today.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And we have teens and young adults from around the
country and Canada who are part of the virtual program now,
which we're not going to get away. That's not going
to go away now that we're back in person. But
at the event, this young lady talked and her dad
(17:25):
came up to me afterwards with just tears rolling down
his face, and he came up to me, he hugged me,
and he says, you don't know how much you've helped me,
and you've helped my family, and that makes it. That's it,
that's everything, And it's not just a fifteen hundred. It's
a respite for the parents. The parents can drop their
(17:49):
kids off and have three hours to themselves, to go
to dinner, to go to a movie, to just sit,
to spend time with the other kids who like my family,
I had a neurotypical daughter and I had Aaron who
was on the spectrum. What it would have been like
(18:09):
for Aaron to be able to go and hang out
and make friends with other kids and we could spend time.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
With Rachel by yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
The other lesson is is that we have we use
National Charity League and Young Men's Service League for our
volunteer base, not solely, but they are the largest majority,
and the it's moms and daughters and moms and sons.
And when they walk in the door and you think
about you were asking about you know, level one to
(18:42):
level three, and they hear, oh, I'm going to a
club to work with autistic teens and young adults. Well,
most people the first place they go is three. So
you know they're thinking, well, are they going to be
non verbal? Like how do I talk to them?
Speaker 3 (18:59):
You know they going to get.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Upset, what are they going to do? And they come
in like deer in the headlights. They have to be
there thirty minutes prior and we just kind of tell them,
you know, we just want you to engage everybody. If
you see somebody sitting by themselves, ask them if they
want to play pool or you know whatever. By the
time they leave, they come up to us and they're like,
(19:22):
oh my gosh, I've had this is the most fun
I've ever had.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Do you know Antonio he.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Is hystericle, you know, I mean, they just they have
a blast. And it's so it's become an educational experience
for those folks who come in as volunteers because now
they see our kids in a different.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Way, normal folks that were just like you before you
had an autistic kid.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Yes, but they walk away with an appreciation of who
these kids are.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
So you got the virtual and you've reopened Where is
this thing? Now? Where are we now?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Right now? We opened our club in Woodstock, Georgia, So
we have an East club in Woodstock, Georgia. In November eleventh,
we'll be opening our first charter in Lexington, Kentucky. That's
where Aaron was born, so it's really that's special. But
(20:23):
you know, our goal right now is to have ten
clubs open by twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And you have two we have to and a virtual
and virtual. How many people are served by virtual and
how many will be served by these two clubs?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
About about well you can have so Virtual is once
a week. Teens are Friday and Saturday nights. Young adults
right now are Sunday nights. Eventually we will fill out
the programming through the week with other things that there
are so many needs now that we've realized for all
(21:02):
of them, adults and teens that I mean, even how
to ask somebody out on a date. How oh yeah, No,
We've had kids go to prom together. I mean, it's
just I can't the stories I could tell, well, tell
them they're just I mean, it's just so great. Well, Antonio,
(21:25):
who was funny. We had a sixteen year old girl
who would come and volunteer, and she went to high
school with Antonio. And the one thing that just melted
my heart is she said, when I see Antonio in
the hallway, I always stop and talk to him. He's
the funniest guy I've ever met. Well, let me tell you,
there aren't a lot of neurotypical kids who are going
(21:46):
to stop in the hallway in high school. Out of
twenty five hundred kids in a public high school.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
And talk to a kid on the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
But the reason she did that was because as she
came and she saw and she saw how real and
fun and bright. I mean one of the kids that
we had, he was ranked one hundred and eighty first
in chess in the United States. Wow, and my husband
tried to play him multiple times.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
We'll be right back, we returned. When I asked Stacy
about how many folks come to East Clubs.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Well, I mean, it depends on their programming. So if
you have sixty four, you can have thirty two kids
per night. So that's sixty sixty four on a weekend.
That's just for teens, right, that doesn't include young adults.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
And we're open forty eight weeks out of the year.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
And then don't ask me to do that math virtual
virtual right now, roughly about twenty per night, And don't
forget that the parents are being served. And I've when
I've met parents, they've come up to me and told
me about their children being suicidal and or attempting to
(23:26):
take their life.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
And now they're still here.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
No, and as a result of this that it's helped
because they've found a place that's safe, they've found a
place that they can go be themselves to the quotes
that you stated, and not have to worry about being
bullied or made fun of, and everyone.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Accepts each other.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And that's that square peg in the round hole that
I was talking about we really didn't need, which breaks
my art as a mom to try and force that
square peg in a round hole where really all the
square pegs just need to come together and have fun.
(24:13):
And these kids end up calling each other outside of
the club.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
They end up meeting each other and doing things.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
What kids do exactly because they have a safe place
to do it.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yeah, but they meet each other in that safe place,
and then it grows from there. The friendship grows, which
is our mission and that it can be a lasting friendship.
We just had two people who met on virtual and
forgive me, I don't remember where everybody lives. Oh well,
the one in Canada and another one in Pennsylvania. I
(24:49):
think the parents got together and the one was going
on vacation and the parents brought them together so they
could meet in.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Person and they got to hang out. How cool is that?
Speaker 1 (25:04):
That is cool? So cool? I can't quit thinking what
Darren said that if Aaron had one of these interactions,
she'd be with you today and you are literally saving
lives in Aaron's memory, which, in the coolest sense, is
probably her legacy.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I hope, So we hope.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So that's phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We want this to be on the same level as
the Boys and Girls Club. We want that legacy because
of all these kids in the United States, all these
young adults, adults. I mean, there's so many needs that
we can continue to talk about beyond what we've already found,
(25:50):
which we're going to work on. But this can be
a space that's open seven days a week for all
different types of things to help all these individuals feel complete,
feel whole, whole, safe, yes, and productive.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So you said earlier, by twenty twenty six, you plan
on having ten.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
E clubs clubs, yeah, rightes, yes.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
And and you want to go you want to be
as big as the Boys and Girls Club.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
That's our goal.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
That would be one in every city. Yes, So how
do you get there?
Speaker 3 (26:38):
That's a good question. Who's out there that can help me?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That's what I want to know, which is that's a
good question.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Which is exactly what you emailed me, which was, now
I can tell everybody you ill me Hey, this is
what it was, so quick and to the point. I
love an army and normal folks. I love what you're
or sharing. I love the stories. My daughter had autism
(27:07):
and took her life, and this is what we've done
because of that. You sent me a link, and we
just want to get the world out to create more
of these places for kids all over the country. It's
what you said to me in your email. I don't
know if you remember, but I read it today. Yeah,
what do you need? It sounds like you need people.
(27:29):
It sounds like you need families that are struggling with
the same things you guys were struggling with with a
child with autism, and you need them to call you
and learn how it's done and get involved.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Absolutely, it'll roughly to get to ten by ten, ten
by twenty twenty six. I mean it's probably about two
and a half million dollars. It takes us roughly about
one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to
run a club for a year, and that's including staff.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
So it's.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
It's daunting, but we'll do it.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
You know, it's a lot, but it's actually not a lot.
I mean, it's a lot of money. But with all
of the riches available to people in this world looking
for good quality things to do that actually do change
and save lives, I've got to believe there's people hearing
(28:26):
this right now that are like, oh, yeah, I want
to do that, or I have an autism person in
my family, or I know somebody that does. And what
an amazing mission that you and and I mean, you're
still right, You're you're working, right, You've got a life.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, still working.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Still working in still working, doing your thing. So the
other part to this is beyond the ten thousand. Exactly
what you said was think of all of the families
and all of the rachels who are being post affected
by this too. I mean, this thing just has tentacles
that are far reaching to every community that it's in.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Oh absolutely, I mean just the families, just like the
dad who came up to me two weeks ago in tears.
You know, it's helped them because it helped their child,
therefore it helped the family. I mean, it is a
trickle effect.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, I think also maybe it can serve to be
a conduit to for their education. To people who don't
deal with autism and their family and their childs to
just understand that this is a very real thing and
it's not trivial and it shouldn't be made fun of.
And as parents, we have a responsibility to teach our
(29:47):
children better.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Absolutely we do.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I agree, And that's why I love that we bring
the volunteer base in who gets that education in person
and get you how see these kids and how funny
and smart and I mean.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
It's just there's there's so Like.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You said, I love the octopus and the tentacles because
that's we we created. The head of the octopus and
the tentacles are just coming out. And the things that
we're learning and the things that we can do through
Aaron's Hope and through Ease Club, and the number of
people that we can reach not only the autistic kids
(30:32):
but beyond is it's unlimited because we learn something new
every day.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Aaron's Hope for Friends Foundation, anybody who's listened that wants
to be involved, or who is struck by this and says,
this is something I want to do and can do.
Who do they call? How do they do it?
Speaker 3 (30:54):
They can call me?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
How does that work? Do they call you? Email you?
How to get me?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
They can call me at six seven eight seven three.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Nine nine nine nine nine. They can email me at
Stacyhorst at kW dot com. S T A C Y
h O R s T at k W dot com.
You can reach out to our website, which is Aaron's
Hope for Friends dot org. There's a contact page you
(31:24):
can fill that out. You can also send an email
to info at Aaron's Hope for Friends dot org.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
If there's ever a calling for an army of normal
folks to get involved, this is it, because that's what's
going to fix it. The government's not going to fix it.
Talking about it's not going to fix it. Nothing's going
to fix it, but just somebody like you and Darren
who said our children deserve better, and your rock and
(31:58):
I am just beyond and amazed by how you've taken
the most traumatic thing that could have ever happened to
you in your life and turned it into a positive
and honor of your daughter so that her legacy lives
on in a purposeful way. It is a phenomenal story
(32:22):
of sadness and depth and redemption and hope. And you know, nobody,
nobody tabbed you and said go do this. Nobody gave
you a foundation and so go do it. You're just
a normal mom and a normal life raising two kids
(32:45):
the best you know how whoo who very personally felt
and saw a need as a result of some great
sadness and decided to fill it. And you're saving and
changing lives and helping families as a result of it.
And I am beyond honored to have talked to you
(33:06):
about it, And thank you so much for sharing in
depth the very personal side of the of your story
so that people can really understand the importance of what
you're doing. I am it's the first one I've teared
up in and I've heard some stories, And thank you
for being the very first of our organic guests. So
(33:29):
you are you, You are, you are, You will be
deep in the history of an army of normal folks forever.
Thank you so much for coming to Memphis and sharing
your story with us and all the amazing work you're doing.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Stacey, Well, thank you so much for having me and
what you're doing with the podcast, because it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Thanks very much, and thank you for joining us this week.
If Stacy or another guest has inspired you in general
or better, you have to take action by starting an
East club, or by donating to Aaron's Hope for Friends,
or something else entirely. Please let me know I'd love
(34:10):
to hear about it. You can write me anytime at
Bill at Normalfolks dot us and I will respond. You
know a special note after this episode. If you heard
what you've just heard and aren't inspired to talk about
any kids in your family, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and certainly
your kids, this story should certainly awaken us to the
(34:36):
desperation felt by some due to bullying and exclusion. We
have responsibility, y'all. We have responsibility raise our kids with
an empathetic heart and an understanding about the dangers of
bullying and the importance of inclusion. I hope you'll think
about Aaron next time you see your own children, pray
(35:00):
that they never have to go through what she went through,
and also take action to teach and foster a level
of empathy and understanding and love in our kids' hearts.
And I hope this story motivates you to, at the
very least do that. If you enjoyed this episode, share
it with friends and on social subscribe to the podcast,
(35:23):
rate it, review it, become a premium number at normal
Folks dot us. All these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks for our premium members
will have bonus content from this episode and it's actually
the hilarious story about how Stacy and her husband Darren met,
and if you don't want to miss it, become a
(35:44):
Premium member today. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsor
at iron Light Laps. I'm Bill Courtney. I'll see you
next week.
Host
Bill Courtney
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