(low tempo music) (drums banging) - [Ayres] I love the history of Far, because we do play a big role in the community for people with disabilities.

But we were founded in 1951 by parents who wanted someplace for their adult children to socialize.

And, over years, those same parents advocated for the Special Needs Act in Michigan to allow kids with disabilities to go to public schools.

So, we kind of closed up very, very briefly.

And then, came back together, because we quickly realized that, they, the kids, weren't still getting the services they needed.

So, the board of directors came together and decided to really focus on creative arts and recreational services for people with disabilities.

We offer all different kinds of creative arts therapy's under one roof.

We do music therapy, art therapy, dance movement therapy, and recreational services.

- [Bowen] At Far, I am a music therapist, as well as the director of the therapeutic staff.

So, half of my week is providing music therapy with clients with a variety of disabilities, mostly with children and adolescents in a school setting.

And the other half of my job is an administrative role supporting new staff as they onboard, and also providing clinical supervision to our therapy team.

Music therapy looks like a lot of fun.

We might be engaged in playing instruments, and making up our own songs, and working on just our own emotional and self-expression.

When you're engaging in music making all day with your clients, there's a vulnerability in that.

And I've really come to appreciate my clients who show up and they're so authentic.

And they inspire me to just come as who I am that day, and to embrace who I am as a person.

- Art Therapy is basically a mixture of counseling and art, and so it helps the clients.

And I, usually, I don't say client.

They're my friends.

I say my friend, my bud, my buddy.

But it helps the clients to take out any frustration through the art.

So, I've learned that I'm not always the teacher 'cause I walk in as the art therapist, and you think that you're the one, you know, giving the lesson, teaching the lesson.

And, a lot of times, they teach you a lot of different things.

It's those little nuggets that we get on a day-to-day basis where you may have a child that's usually nonverbal, and then you'll walk through the door, and they're like, "Hey Ms. Purina, how are you?"

And it just blows your mind and warms your heart at the same time.

So, just those little nuggets that we get day to day, where they just surprise you.

- What really makes FAR so unique is the fact that we provide creative arts therapy for people with disabilities of any age and any diagnosis.

And what's so unique about that is, you can come as a child, and you're always welcome here.

You're never gonna age out of our programs.

One of the clients, which there are many, that bring me joy here at Far, is Juan.

Juan has been a client here at Far for over 20 years, which is so exciting.

And I think he's pretty much done every therapy that we've offered.

(Juan drumming) - [Bowen] We seek out therapists who are passionate and people who really care about their jobs, and they really care about people, and making a difference in someone's life.

I think Far is a really incredible place for clinical staff to develop our skills and sharpen each other as clinicians, because we have a really strong team.

My coworkers all come from different backgrounds, and different work experiences, and we can teach each other so much about how to be the best therapist that we can be.

- It is wonderful being with an organization with like-minded people that share the same vision for working with children as well as adults that I have.

And we understand what, you know, what we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis, and we can actually communicate with each other when we're having issues ourselves as well.

- We, really, a few years ago, decided that we really wanted to be more of a community center for families with people with disabilities.

So, we started offering all different kinds of opportunities.

On October 19th, is our Far Friends event.

And we, actually, we call it Friends, because one of the most important parts about Far is, of course, the creative arts therapies and the recreational services are so important, but Far as a safe, kind, patient place to make friends and keep friends.

Our event on October 19th, that is really for the community.

It's our clients performing.

But, when you're a parent or a grandparent, and you see your grandchild, or your child, or your niece, or your nephew on stage being empowered and performing in front of four or 500 people, it's really quite amazing.

- Everyone gets to showcase.

I think that's very important to show off what they can do at the end of the day.

And just show people, again, that, yeah, we may have special needs, but we can do a lot of the same things that you can do, when it comes to dancing, singing, art.

(members singing) (crowd cheering) - The process and the development of how they're preparing week to week together, how they're strengthening their friendships and their relationships with one another, and the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves is really special to see.

- Well, the way, I hope, Far combats societal stereotypes is seeing individuals with special needs as people, because they are just that, just people.

And you'd be surprised and amazed at what they can do.

And I think sometimes, when people think of special needs, they think of what people can't do, what they can't do.

And I've worked with some exceptional individuals, some exceptional friends as I call them.

- Because we are so unique, and there's not many organizations like us.

There's actually almost no organizations across the country like us.

I would love to see Far in the future all over, in every major city, in every small city across the country.

(members singing) (crowd cheering)