Markeshia Ricks Photo
Dylan Kuhnhenn is a budding actor. Sam Powell is known for throwing great Super Bowl parties. Jessica Wills is the star of an illustrated book.
All three have Down Syndrome and have found their independence through the Chapel Haven Schleifer Center.
On Thursday they got to share the stories of how they achieved that independence during Chapel Haven’s second celebration of World Down Syndrome Day.
“We just want to be treated like everybody else,” Kuhnhenn. “We want people to accept us as we are.”
Kunhenn, 27, (pictured) came to Chapel Haven from Washington D.C. six year ago. Since graduating from the Resident Education at Chapel Haven (REACH) program, he lives in his own condo with a roommate. He has worked in the Yale-New Haven Hospital daycare which he said he enjoyed because he “loves working with kids.”
Now he works for the New Haven Public Schools food services department. He also volunteers as an usher at the Shubert Theater, when he’s not busy taking acting classes at the Neighborhood Music School. If all that weren’t enough, he’s getting ready to start a program at Gateway Community College.
Kunhenn said he learned all the skills and the confidence to do all that and more at Chapel Haven.
“I’m living my dream,” he said.
Jessica Wills (pictured), the star of a book called Just A Girl Named Jessica,which is written and illustrated by her father, said she “felt awkward and unsettled” when she first came to Chapel Haven.
“Now, I’m in heaven,” she said.
When asked how she thought her mom felt to watch her leave home, Wills said she thought her mom was a little heartbroken like every parent who has to accept that their little girl is growing up.
“But now she’s happy,” Wills said as both her mom, Debbie, and dad Fred sat smiling in the audience.
A copy of the book was one of the prizes of the day for those participating in the World Down Syndrome.
Wacky socks were on display to raise awareness about Down Syndrome, which is characterized by abnormal cell division that results of a third copy of chromosome 21.
Shanon McCormick (pictured), executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Connecticut, said when she talks to parents who are facing a diagnosis of Down Syndrome she points to the adults at Chapel Haven to let them know that the prospects for the future can be good.
Chapel Haven serves about 150 adults with various disabilities. About a third of them specifically have Down Syndrome. The Westville campus is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar transformation that aims to accommodate adults with disabilities who need support in their senior years. (Read more about that here.)