I have a cousin who has lived at Echols for more than 12 years. When my aunt was terminally ill in 2007, the staff would bring my cousin to see her in the hospital. So when she passed away, I started to make time to spend with my cousin and was introduced to Ms. Echols and her amazing staff. This is a program that is run by very caring and responsible people. The staff are good, hard working and very conscientious individuals that are all supervised by Ms. Echols. The staff give great care. The residents have all their needs met on a daily basis. I have never seen such a well trained, dedicated and thorough group of people that really care about those they take care of. I think it's the faithful caring for their residents, and a sense of love that is genuine, that enables the company to run as well as it does. I just know that if every special needs individual had a place that they could call home, as my cousin does, their lives would be much better. I think my cousin is privileged to live in an Echols home.

My son has lived in Echols AFC since August 1999. I think he is in a safe, loving environment ,where all his needs are met. He has adapted well, and seems happy. I can honestly say that I am not worried. I'm sure that if something happened to me, he would be well taken care of. I thank God that he is with such wonderful people!

In August 2008, Douglas went into independent living...Not long after that, Douglas moved into a beautiful Echols home. Douglas has his own room and bath, as do the other residents. Olive is their caretaker. Douglas, who is picky about the foods he eats, eats everything Olive makes. He told me to call Olive for the recipes so she could tell me how to cook his favorites. I pick Douglas up on Saturdays and Sundays so he can spend some time with me. Edsel is his caretaker in the evening. Douglas tells me he likes Edsel, because he's a man, and he listens and sometimes helps him. Another caretaker on the weekend, is Jade who has Douglas vacuum and dust his room, and also to do his exercises. When I ask him if he did what he was suppose to do he answers in a voice with pride "yes I did!" Douglas has grown since moving to the Echols home, and I thank Tahatia, Brufus and Richard for the loving and caring they give!