OKEECHOBEE — An Okeechobee couple has been quietly working behind the scenes to make their community a better place. Lillie’s House of Joy, a group home and an agency for adults with special needs, is an extension of their work.

Bridgett and Terry Williams Sr. do not like the limelight but can often be found in the background meeting needs as they see them. According to friend and employee, Kristie Holley, they are both completely wonderful human beings. “They helped rebuild their church. They put new carpet in there. They totally redecorated it. They adopt families at Christmastime and purchase new school clothes and things they need. They are just really good people,” she said.

Originally from Detroit, Bridgett visited family in Okeechobee every summer and then moved here permanently as a teenager. Terry has lived in Okeechobee all his life. They opened Lillie’s House of Joy about nine years ago when they saw the need in Okeechobee. The name Lillie is in remembrance of Bridgett’s grandmother.

Lillie’s House of Joy has two separate arms. The first is to provide companions, supportive living and personal support to adults with special needs. The second is to provide safe housing for some of these same individuals who might never be able to live away from their parents or families if the group home was not an option.

A companion is someone who comes to the client’s home, spends some time with them out in the community. They are taught things like personal safety and various life skills depending on the abilities of the client. Each client is taught their personal rights to make choices. “We keep them very educated. For many years, people believed that these “special” adults did not have the same rights as we do, but this is not true,” said Holley. “Even in this house here. If they don’t like something, they can make that choice.” She said they often take clients to the coast to go to the movies or to go bowling.

Personal support is a little different. You go into their home and help with cleaning, cooking, shopping, taking medicine, things like that, she explained.

Finally, supported living, is pretty much the same thing, but the individual does not live with a family member. They live on their own.

The group home which opened in 2020 is big enough for seven clients and is at capacity now. Each person has a companion who comes in and picks them up to go do activities. The home staff also does activities with the clients.

“We even go on vacations with them,” said Kristie. “We took them to Tennessee. Now, they are planning a trip to the Keys in March. We just threw a Halloween party for them. They do a lot.” The home has at least one person there 24 hours a day to meet the needs of the clients, and Terry and Bridgett are always just a phone call away.

Staff cooks for the house, but if a client wants to do some cooking, they can do that. Staff does most of the cleaning too. The clients do arts and crafts and set goals for themselves each year and then work toward those goals.

Bridgett’s mom is the one who suggested Bridgett and Terry open an agency in Okeechobee, explained Kristie.

Bridgett has worked as a caregiver most of her adult life, working on the coast in behavioral group homes. This is where she and Kristie met. “Transitioning from that to this was a change for me,” said Kristie, who is the manager of the agency. “I didn’t know what to do with myself here. I was used to fighting or self-harm, screaming and yelling, things like that.”

There is not a big turnover in staff. Most of the people who work for Lillie’s House of Joy have been with them since the house opened. “We all get along. It’s like a family.”

Although the group home is full right now, the other arm, the agency, is always ready to take on new clients. The individual must be on Medicaid and have been diagnosed with a disability. If the person is still in school, they need an IEP.

For information, call 863-697-9369. Please do not call or message before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m.

If you are interested in working for the agency, you must pass a Level 2 background check and complete required training.