Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Amy Shope, who, along with her husband, Kevin Shope, started the nonprofit Dylan’s House organization, dances with Peter Pasquale, 37, who is on the autism spectrum, during the Dylan’s House fourth annual Sunday Funday at Penguin City Brewing Co. in downtown Youngstown. Pasquale is a roommate of the Shope’s son, Dylan, who also was diagnosed with autism and for whom the organization was named.

YOUNGSTOWN — A significant and tragic separation still exists between the ages of many on the autism spectrum and their ability to receive continued needed services and resources, some autism experts and advocates say.

Consequently, a nonprofit agency is committed to building a firm and solid bridge to connect those two disparate points.

“We want to educate people specifically on the need for more support for adults with autism,” said Kevin Shope, who, along with his wife, Amy Shope, co-founded the nonprofit Dylan’s House organization in 2022.

Despite tremendous advances in autism awareness, advocacy and acceptance over the years, more than half of young adults on the spectrum are not working or in school after transitioning from high school, which frequently creates long-term gaps in their independence and stability, Shope said.

Building such a bridge requires money, of course, which was a driving force behind the Dylan’s House fourth annual Sunday Funday gathering and fundraiser Sunday afternoon and evening at Penguin City Brewing Co., 460 E. Federal St., downtown.

Hosting the gathering was Lindsey Watson, an anchor with WKBN-TV 27.

The Shopes founded the organization — named after their son, Dylan Shope, who is on the autism spectrum — to build homes for young adults with autism, support their caregivers and advocate for a community where such adults can live with dignity and as independently as possible. Along those lines, Dylan’s House seeks to help them better navigate adulthood with greater confidence.

The first such home for up to three individuals should be finished May 1 on Judith Lane in Struthers, with an open house set for May 19, Struthers Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said.

Toward the end of this year, construction on another home should begin on Woodfield Court off South Avenue in Boardman, Kevin Shope said.

“April is one of acceptance, but we live this every day,” Amy Shope said in her opening remarks Sunday, alluding to April being Autism Awareness Month.

Hundreds of elected officials, community leaders, autism advocates, those on the spectrum and others attended the event, a goal of which was to raise about $150,000. Overall, Dylan’s House has generated more than $750,000 from fundraisers, she said.

In 2000, an estimated 1 in 150 births in the U.S. resulted in an autism diagnosis. Today, the figure is about 1 in 31, more than a fourfold increase in 25 years. Despite greater available resources, interventions and offerings than in the past, many families still report experiencing a “service cliff” in which most individuals with autism receive structural support from their school systems, but by age 18 or 21, their services abruptly end, according to information Dylan’s House made available at the Sunday Funday.

Compounding this problem is that parents of those on the spectrum age as their health and life circumstances often shift. At the same time, the professional caregiver workforce has a 43% national turnover rate — making quality and consistent care difficult for many young adults with autism to find and maintain, the information stated.

Without a support system in place, loss of trusted caregivers can result in a severe decline in many such adults’ physical and mental well-being, according to Dylan’s House.

Each year, an estimated 500,000 individuals with autism across the country transition into adulthood, and about 77,000 of them in Ohio live with caregivers age 60 or older, Kevin Shope said, adding that Dylan’s House will serve as the landlord of its homes and that various agencies will staff and run them based on the individuals’ needs.

“I think housing is such an important piece for autistic adults,” Jodi Glass, the Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley’s executive director, said, adding that many people are unaware of this need.

For her efforts to address such a void, Glass called Amy Shope “a very dedicated mom with a passion for the autism community.”

Quoting a sign he read that states, “Tough times don’t last, but tough cities do,” Mayor Derrick McDowell used it as a metaphor for how he feels organizations such as Dylan’s House care for some vulnerable people and, by extension, strengthen homes, families and communities while offering “inclusiveness in housing.”

“They deserve a safe, comfortable place to live, and that’s what Dylan’s House is all about,” Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson said.

Providing the musical entertainment for the Sunday Funday was RDNA, which offered its mix of rock ‘n’ roll, oldies, funk and R&B tunes.

In addition, attendees were able to buy bricks to add their names to a wall that supports the organization.