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Nonotuck’s Neighborhood FEBRUARY 2026

Our Auburn office recently celebrated the holidays, a little late, but right in time to include Valentines and even Friday the 13th at their 'Cupid and Curses' party recently!

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eorge

Dear Friends, elcome to the February edition of Nonotuck’s Neighborhood From honoring lac istory onth to lifting up the voices ithin our o n organi ation, each piece spea s to our core values of love, mutuality, authenticity and interdependence e are proud to share Nonotuck Anthology: Volume 1 his anthology available in both print and digital captures voices and lived e periences from ithin our community, collecting onotuc stories from 1 3 hen people share their stories ith vulnerability and courage, they remind us that authenticity is not ust encouraged at onotuc it is celebrated mail oshua urray murray@nonotuck.com if you d li e a copy for yourself n he Voice e eed ut o ot ant, e revisit r artin uther ing r s challenge to confront uncomfortable truths is message continues to call us to ard ustice, e uity, moral courage and love he event, hosted by our iversity, uity, nclusion and elonging Committee honors his legacy by not only remembering his ords but living them ensuring that every person is seen, heard, and valued n honor of lac istory onth, e are highlighting lac o ned businesses across assachusetts upporting these businesses is one meaningful ay e can strengthen community ties and recogni e the resilience, creativity, and leadership ithin lac communities Finally, e invite you to atch the profile of andy and Amanda heir story beautifully reflects hat e mean hen e spea about indness, mutual respect and authentic relationships his article is even more timely, as it illustrates ho the integration of ositive ehavior upports has helped to bolster the lives of all the people in the homes of shared living han you for being part of this community our engagement, reflection, and support continue to ma e onotuc a place here people can live ind, loving authentic lives incerely, eorge Fleischner, resident C O

tch Need but

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onotuc staff gathered recently to reflect on : he Voice e Need but Do Not ant, a D talk by noted artin uther ing scholar regory hom son ponsored by onotuc s iversity, uity, nclusion, and elonging Committee, the event created space for thoughtful dialogue among staff about r ing s legacy and ho his message continues to challenge us today n the tal , hompson e amines ho r artin uther ing, r is often remembered in simplified ays that overloo the depth and difficulty of his message e reflects on ing s emphasis on love, ustice, and moral responsibility, and considers hy these ideas can be hard to accept or sustain, particularly during times of social tension and ine uality taff dre parallels bet een r ing s era and the present day hile his ords are fre uently uoted and celebrated, participants noted that the most challenging part of his message the insistence on love as an active, demanding practice is often overloo ed ove, as r ing described it, is not passive or sentimental t re uires seeing one another fully, refusing to reduce people to their orst moments, and committing to ustice ithout abandoning compassion uring the discussion, onotuc resident and C O eorge Fleischner reflected on ho the tal reframed r ing s message as a call to action rather than a comforting ideal his tal reminded me that r ing s message asn t meant to ma e us comfortable it as meant to call us into deeper responsibility, eorge shared ove, as he described it, as s something of us every day to listen more carefully, to act ith courage, and to stay committed to one another even hen it s hard

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very han sgiving holds special meaning for andy eare obinson and Amanda o enoit Fittingly, the holiday that brings families together is also the one that mar ed the beginning of Amanda oining andy s family andy recalls receiving the call about Amanda hile shopping for last minute han sgiving ingredients hey reached out to me as ing if could ta e Amanda in for respite t as han sgiving ve, and as out shopping, preparing to have over people in my house hen received the call, andy recalls said, Absolutely as long as she s o ay ith the holiday festivities f you sa her that day, she as dancing ithout a care in the orld, andy continues hat as a special time, and she decided to stay he opened up my ids to hat actually do during the day, and they absolutely loved her hat moment gre into 1 years and counting of shared life and connection, ith Amanda becoming an integral part of andy s household Our relationship has been meaningful, navigating hardships and sic ness together he loves my ids, alyah and Craig, and my son is one of her best friends he lights up hen he comes home from school and cried hen he ent to college, ust li e did, andy says hen Craig finished school and graduated, Amanda ould not let the day go ithout being there to support his achievement he as so proud of him o she s an auntie ith the arrival of my daughter s baby boy, Omavi she s incredibly e cited about that andy and her family are important to me, Amanda says hen she opened her door and elcomed me into her family, it really touched my heart andy and Amanda s relationship reflects the trust, care, support, and shared decision ma ing that define hared iving values that are also central to ho Nonotuck a roaches ositi e eha ioral u orts

ro i e nd nd nd ontinued At onotuc , is used as part of an ongoing effort to truly understand the person being supported t emphasi es recogni ing each person s individuality, strengths, and personality, hile supporting autonomy, ambition, and meaningful connections ithin their community hile has been more formally emphasi ed by the assachusetts epartment of evelopmental ervices in recent years, its person centered approach closely aligns ith onotuc s long standing values n every hared iving home, reinforces hat onotuc has al ays stood for that every person deserves not only safety, but dignity, respect, love, an authentic life, and the freedom to ma e choices that shape their o n story andy and Amanda both agree that integrating into Amanda s care plan strengthened hat as already or ing by centering her voice, e panding choice, and building trust through everyday conversations atch the video above to hear more from their conversation t opened her up more, andy says e tal ed about things she might li e, her past, her future, and hat she anted to do t s made her more open and more creative hat creativity includes a ne interest in playing drums she already plays guitar and en oys arao e hich has brought oy to them both helped us thin more outside the bo and beyond our routines, andy adds eeing her be so oyful and happy made me e tra happy too

A N

Nonotuck

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e are proud to share Nonotuck Anthology: Volume 1 his anthology available in both print and digital captures voices and lived e periences from ithin our community, collecting onotuc stories from 1 3 hen people share their stories ith vulnerability and courage, they remind us that authenticity is not ust encouraged at onotuc it is celebrated mail oshua urray murray@nonotuck.com if you d li e a copy for yourself

ho ck ned in ss chusetts

usinesses

February is lac istory onth, and e encourage you to celebrate by supporting the numerous blac o ned restaurants and businesses all over assachusetts his list as compiled from multiple internet archives f you don t find hat you are loo ing for, here are some other resources ith listings of businesses to support oston.com ere’s a unning ist o u u

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lacko nedbos.com lack ned os usiness Directory lackboston.com ist o oston lack o ned businesses to buyblack ustainable usiness Net ork o ustainable usiness Net ork o

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f you d li e to submit a business for our list, please email oshua

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