The Place Where He Finally Grew

 The Place Where He Finally Grew

Introduction

Some stories don’t begin with words.
They begin with presence. With patience. With someone choosing to stay.
At RiseUP, we see stories like this every day, but every once in a while, someone puts it into words in a way that makes you feel it.

Marion, a Behavior Support Specialist at RiseUP, wrote the following piece about one of the young people in our program. What she captured isn’t just his story—it’s what happens when someone is finally given stability, understanding, and the chance to be seen.

Before you read her words, it’s important to understand this:
This isn’t fiction. This is real life.
This is what can happen when the right environment meets the right people at the right time.

A Story of Trust, Growth, and Being Seen

E.L. is 15 years old.

He has spent most of his life moving through systems that were never designed with him in mind—foster homes, constant change, and very little consistency. By the time he arrived at RiseUP, much of his communication wasn’t through words, but through behavior, patterns, and presence.

And like many individuals who have experienced instability, trust didn’t come easily.

Marion remembers that from the beginning.

He didn’t need someone to fix him.
He needed someone to understand him.

So she did something simple—but powerful.
She showed up.

Consistently. Gently. Without expectation.

And over time, something began to shift.

E.L. began to feel safe.
He began to regulate.
He began to trust that not everyone leaves.

Today, his progress is something you can feel when you’re in the room with him. Not because it’s loud or obvious—but because it’s real.

Marion describes it best in her own words.

RiseUP: The Place Where He Finally Grew

By Marion Godfrey-Stine, Behavior Support Specialist

He entered the world quietly.

Not because he lacked thoughts or feelings, but because his voice lived in gestures, glances, and the way he moved through space.
People called him “nonverbal,” but anyone who truly watched him knew he communicated in a language deeper than sound.

Life didn’t give him a soft beginning.
He was given to the state before he ever had the chance to understand what family meant.
Foster homes came and went — each one a new set of rules, new adults, new losses.
He learned early that nothing stayed, not even the people who promised they would.

But even in all that instability, he kept going.

He built routines to anchor himself.
He found comfort in patterns when people felt unpredictable.
He survived a system that wasn’t designed with kids like him in mind.

And then he found RiseUP.

It wasn’t just another program.
It was the first place that didn’t try to “fix” him.
They didn’t see a case file — they saw a kid with a quiet brilliance and a heart that had been asked to be strong for far too long.

RiseUP gave him stability.
Structure.
Safety.
People who understood that communication isn’t limited to words.
People who believed that every child deserves a chance to rise, no matter where they started.

And slowly, he began to thrive.

He started showing his intelligence in ways no one had noticed before.
He began trusting that not everyone disappears.
He learned that he didn’t have to change who he was to be valued.

And somewhere in that new chapter, you stepped in.

You didn’t push him.
You didn’t demand he speak or behave a certain way.
You simply showed up — consistently, gently, with a kind of patience that kids like him recognize instantly.

He may not say your name out loud, but he speaks to you in other ways:
in the way he looks for you,
in the way he relaxes when you’re near,
in the way he lets you into his quiet world.

RiseUP helped him rise.
But you’re helping him grow.

And if life continues to open the right doors — if stability keeps finding him — you’ll get to be part of the story he builds next.
Not to replace what he lost.
Not to rescue him.
But to be one of the rare people who stayed long enough for him to trust.

Why This Matters

This is what volunteering, visiting, or simply stepping into RiseUP allows you to witness.

Not a program.
Not a system.

But real, human transformation.

The kind that doesn’t happen overnight—but happens because people choose to show up, over and over again.

People like Marion.
And people like you.

Come Experience It for Yourself

You can read stories like this.
You can feel them.

But the most powerful thing you can do… is experience it firsthand.

• Come take a tour
• Spend time volunteering
• Step into the environment where this kind of growth happens every day

Because moments like this don’t just change the lives of the individuals in our programs—
they change everyone who becomes part of the community.

Come be a part of something real:
https://www.rup.org/come-be-a-part-of-something-real/

Come see what we’re doing.

Rising Together. Thriving Forever.

About RiseUP

RiseUP is at the forefront of advancing inclusion for neurodivergent individuals in Colorado. With a dedicated K–12 school, adult day and residential programs, and supported employment services, RiseUP provides comprehensive support from childhood through adulthood. RiseUP’s mission is to promote dignity and self-worth by building transformational communities where people of all abilities thrive side by side. Together, we RiseUP for inclusion.