Special Needs Network Inc., a nonprofit founded in 2005, opened its Valencia chapter on Wednesday with the help of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Founded by Areva Martin after her son’s diagnosis at the age of 2, the nonprofit is based on five key pillars: autism health and wellness, advocacy and social justice, workforce development, education and training and community engagement and support.
“I would like to welcome my SNN colleagues, my families, along with the chamber representatives, chamber members, our community, some of our neighbors from our buildings here, along with the esteemed elected official representatives,” said Cheryl Gully, the nonprofit’s senior director of outreach and government relations. “So thank you for coming. This afternoon, we will celebrate our new center with the ribbon cutting ceremony that officially welcomes SNN to the Santa Clarita Valley and Valencia area.”
Mitchell van Bekkum took the podium to welcome the nonprofit to Santa Clarita on behalf of the chamber.
“Thank you to Special Needs Network for allowing us to be here, and making us a part of your very special celebration. It’s not every day that we get to open such a special location. It’s extra special, because you provide a care that is so needed here in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Van Bekkum said. “We would like to thank you for investing your time, resources and efforts here in the Santa Clarita Valley, and for making this a better place to live because of that inclusivity.”
Martin expressed her gratitude to the families and staff, as she reflected on the growth of the nonprofit throughout the years.
“We have some of our amazing parents that are here. We want to shout them out, because without the parents, there would be no Special Needs Network. And everything we do is about centering the needs of our families and ensuring that we are providing them, and their children, with the utmost, best care that we possibly can,” Martin said. “This is an expansion of Special Needs Network’s footprint. We started in south Los Angeles. We now have seven offices across the southern California region, and this is one of our flagship offices that we are incredibly happy about.”
Martin encouraged the attendees to try the treats that were made by the Special Flavors team, showcasing the efforts and benefits of the organization firsthand.
“Special Flavors is a culinary training arts program that we run for our young adults, our neurodivergent young adults, as they’re learning culinary skills. We operate food trucks, and they are here providing some snacks for this afternoon,” Martin said. “We’re doing this grand opening today because this is a new facility that will allow us to welcome more families — to serve more families and more children in this community. So again, thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting the work that we do, and thank you for being really good neighbors.”
The organization’s new Valencia Regional Office is located at 25115 Avenue Stanford, Suite A111, Valencia. For more information on Special Needs Network, go to snnla.org.
