Moving for Meagan - A Letter to our Local’s Loved-ones
To our precious local families,
It’s obviously taken me quite some time to write this. I just haven’t really had words. At Southwind, we take our role in our Locals’ lives extremely seriously. We are honored to get to have any place in their story. We refer to the people we serve as “Locals” because that’s what they are. They are not “customers,” “clients,” “students,” and certainly not “consumers.” They are a part of a community, our community, working and most importantly living, along side us and one another. They are local to their community and their city, as are we, doing life together, with us. By choosing a place in that community that involves serving, we are choosing, not a job, but a lifestyle that often involves sacrifice, empathy, compassion, and sometimes, a ton of grace. I’ll be honest with you, I never really considered adding “grief,” to that list of things that would be asked of us when we started Southwind.
It is not that the thought of losing a Local at some point never crossed my mind. It did, but I would swiftly brush it away, in the way that we do when something completely unimaginable enters your thinking, and you just don’t even want to give it any space because just even the idea of it is too painful to consider. As a parent, in this particular circumstance, I feel as though I would want to know what happened. With her parents permission and support, I feel comfortable answering that question. If you do not already know, our sweet Meagan (who we lovingly referred to as “McGee”) suffered cardiac arrest, due to an underlying health condition, after a doctor’s appointment on May 7th. Our amazing wellness coordinator, Kadi, performed CPR on her immediately and, because of that quick intervention, Meagan stayed with us for another 7 days. Long enough for her family and friends to say their goodbyes. As a team we were humbled that her incredible parents allowed us to be at her bedside, with them, during that time. On May 14th, our McGee went to be with Jesus, fully healed, fully free, fully loved. Her funeral was a true testament to just how loved she was, as the room was jam-packed with so many of her family members, friends, people who had served her in the past, and so many of our Locals.
In the month of May we both celebrated our first Southwind wedding, and the following week, shared in the grief of this tragedy. Despite the heartbreak, the beauty of this experience of truly doing life together, is not lost on us. Our Locals teach us so much. Even in this season, they are still teaching us. We watched as they rallied around one another in their grief, as they outwardly showed their support for their Southwind family, and openly shared their love for one another in ways we had never before experienced. Even in such sadness, unlikely bonds were formed and memories were made that honored Meagan’s legacy of loyalty, joy, and fierce independence. It is our goal, from here on out, to continue to honor our amazing friend. In doing so, we have created a new initiative that we’re calling, “Moving for Meagan.”
This addition to Southwind Fields programing is 100% focused on the health of our Locals. Going through the last 2 months together has shed tremendous light on the gap in education and opportunities available to the special needs population, as it pertains to their health. Things like accessing fitness and nutrition classes that were not only affordable, but made for people with learning differences. Obtaining care from doctors that are not only knowledgeable in intellectual and developmental disabilites, but also compassionate and willing to listen. Things like accessing healthy, home cooked meals for those that struggle with cooking. I could go on.
Shortly after we lost McGee, we began a heavy focus on exploring options that could make the biggest impact in both the short and long term futures of both our current Locals and those still to come. We believe this looks like:
Daily group walks of at least 1 mile
Increased space at the Local Society to house:
- an expanded wellness team for medically related case management and support
- a clinic for visiting doctors to include general practitioners, dentists, psychiatrists, counselors, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, x-ray, sonogram, and phlebotomy.
Increased space at the Local Society to facilitate cooking classes
Increased space at the Local Society to provide more immersive fitness based experiences
Partnership with Bloom Fitness for twice weekly exercise classes at the Local Society
Healthy, affordable, weekly meal prep and delivery
We are committed to reaching these goals for our Locals and would appreciate your support. It is our humble ask that you consider:
Praying boldly for the health of our Locals and the growth of this cause that ultimately helps them sustain their independence and overall happiness.
Sharing the “Moving for Meagan” link with as many family and friends as you possibly can through e-mail and texts (southwindfields.com/movingformeagan).
Giving monetarily to Southwind Fields to allow us to keep our current membership fees low and provide these much needed additions to programming at no added cost.
Sharing the “Moving for Meagan” link with your place of business, local businesses, online communities, social media accounts, and housing communities.
Sharing the “Moving for Meagan” link with your church and faith community.
Attend the “Moving for Meagan” event September 14th, with your Local and invite your family and friends.
Consider contacts you have that may find this initiative inline with their professional and personal missions and share them with us.
We truly appreciate your support and participation in our Southwind Fields community and would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you again for sharing your Local with us. It is my life’s biggest blessing.
Love,
Leslie Bellieu
