Before I opened Next Step Farms, I was a special education teacher with the public school system locally. I was seeing that they had limited opportunities after age 21.

There weren't any programs that continued to allow this sweet population the opportunity to grow and to continue to gain independence, the opportunity to find value, to find their own purpose at their own pace.

They're very much purpose-driven people, and they're very much motivated people who just want to be accepted by society. And when I realized that, it broke my heart, and I wanted to be a part of making a difference.

A small family farm aspect, like we're doing here, gives you all of the areas of life that we all need to grow independently. It gives you how to make a budget because we have to buy groceries. We have to buy animal feed every week. We need a budget. You have to plan meals for the crowd. You have to plan meals based on people's dietary needs. There’s a lot to learn here.

It's so rewarding here to see people feel valued and appreciated simply because you took the time to be here today. Truthfully, I learned to just slow down.