Grafton Police sensory room offers space to de-stress
GRAFTON, Wis. - A new housing development just opened in Grafton that enables adults living with autism to be independent.
Chief Jeff Caponera first found training for his officers, before deciding the best plan might just be a station project.
Near the end of a long hallway, inside the Grafton Police Department, room 224 almost looks and feels like it doesn’t belong.
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But to Caponera, the sensory room is all about belonging.
Sensory room
"I thought, let's transform that room. It's hardly used anyway," Caponera said. "We have an autistic community coming to our village, and we wanted to be able to accommodate them."
Inside, there is an array of lights, sounds and accessories. It’s the work of All My Friends, a Cedarburg nonprofit.
Dianne and Brad Helmer started the nonprofit in 2011.
"If you saw this room before, it was just a small space, couch, couple toys, and that was about it," Dianne Helmer said.
They started the organization for their 23-year-old daughter Cassie, who lives with autism.
Dianne and Brad Helmer
"She can't tell you the things," Brad Helmer said. "She can't go and do them for herself, but she lifts people up, and so this was a great way for us to leave her imprint on the world."
The room provides anyone with a developmental disability a safe space to deal with distress.
"If they're doing interviews, and somebody can't articulate or is too afraid to articulate what they're trying to get across, they can use the whiteboard," Brad Helmer said.
Caponera said it could make all the difference when investigating a crime, but he’s leaving the door open for anyone struggling with stress.
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"It's another tool for us to be able to help our community members," he said.
Sensory room
The price tag on the project was $8,500 and every penny came from an All My Friends grant, as well as other donors.
Caponera said it’s open to his officers as well, should they need to decompress.
It's just the second law enforcement agency in the U.S. to open a sensory room.