[film reel whirring] - The story, my story is fun.

- Okay, listen... [bright music] - [Rebecca] I think Blossom is the destination we were always walking towards and didn't ever really know it.

- Which is your favorite?

- Yellow sunflower.

- [Rebecca] It just sort of grew up alongside all of the steps that we took to move Raimee through his life and to help him accomplish all the things that he was capable of accomplishing.

- [Sayde] Thank you.

- [Rebecca] And because he's now in his adulthood, we hope that this is the thing that's gonna take him through that, and hopefully, something that can be a part of many lives for many of his friends and for our greater community.

[birds chirping] [film reel clattering] - My name is Raimee David Sorensen.

[bright piano music] ♪ Oh, Puff the Magic Dragon ♪ ♪ Lived by the sea ♪ - I'm Keith Sorensen.

- I'm Rebecca Sorensen.

We're Raimee's parents.

♪ In a land called Honah Lee ♪ Raimee and I are the co-founders of Blossom Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a 4.5 acre flower farm and design studio.

♪ And frolicked in the autumn mist ♪ [gentle organ music] - Choose love.

- Oh, Raimee, if you took music and joy, and you wrapped it up in skin and bones, [Keith and Rebecca chuckle] that is Raimee.

[gentle music] - Look at Rai's natural smile.

- I know.

- It's a really good smile.

- It's so cute.

- Always loved the beach.

- Babies.

So Raimee's 27.

He came into the world.

I had just turned 23.

Mm, this one, so this is right when he was diagnosed.

Yeah, I think he's got your keys or something.

He was 18-months-old.

We had a pediatrician.

We were regular in our visits and doing all the things we were supposed to do, and then I noticed he stopped looking at me.

He was sitting in his car seat in the backseat as normal, and I was waving at him through the rear view mirror, and he was not paying any attention to me.

It was like I wasn't there.

[film reel whirring] I don't remember the drive to the hospital.

I don't remember any of the conversation that happened prior to the moment when the doctor said, "We believe your son has autism spectrum disorder."

And I remember when he said, "Don't expect him to be potty trained.

"Don't expect him to speak."

He gave us a terrible book, and he shook our hands and said he was sorry.

- When we received the diagnosis, I think we're both shocked and really just trying to think through, what does this mean for Raimee?

What does this mean for us going forward?

Just having no idea what that meant for the future.

- [Rebecca] Right.

- And it's really in Rebecca's nature that as soon as we got home, she just started reading and doing research.

- We're just gonna do all the research that we can do.

We're gonna talk to everybody who will talk to us.

We're gonna, you know, if nothing else, we're gonna do the absolute very best thing that we can do by our kid, and at the end of the day, we just love him.

- It really wasn't too long after that that she started bringing up resources and going to conferences, and it was just opening the door on the journey we were about to embark on.

[bright music] - Wrist.

- Wrist.

- That's right and this is a... - Finger.

- Good... We were, at the time, doing this home therapy program called Applied Behavior Analysis, and Raimee, in between, was going to school.

- Along the course of his life, it's been a mix of great things with the school and not so great things with the school.

And it had been sort of culminating in the background, but it really became what it was when Raimee's High School closed down, and when that happened, we really were faced with this what next?

- [Rebecca] Ironically, my area of study in graduate school was the intersection of nature-based interventions and positive health outcomes for folks with autism.

- And that's where Rebecca came up with the idea for Blossom.

[film reel rattling] - [Rebecca] Have you taking your morning vitamins yet?

- Yeah.

- Oh you did, nice.

[playful music] We're gonna plant some things today.

I think we're gonna transplant the snapdragons, and- - [Raimee] Okay.

- [Sayde] Yeah, and then you'll have choir this evening.

- [Raimee] Okay.

- So Sayde is Raimee's housemate, and she is also his social care farmer, so she supports him in his work on the farm.

- Do you like peanut butter on your pancakes?

- [Raimee] Mm-mm.

- Yeah, I've never seen you do that.

- You know, sometimes you just meet somebody in the universe who just has this beautiful vibe and this sweet connection, and she is that person with Raimee.

- This opportunity came up with Raimee to live with him and provide support, but also, friendship, and me and my husband, Jacob, have been living here since the beginning of June.

- It's really, it's all that we hoped for.

We didn't want to have some sort of like staff-patient arrangement.

We wanted it to be more organic and to feel like I'm gonna learn how to live independently as an adult by living with a person who's also living independently as an adult.

- And it, I mean, the friendship Raimee gives us and the care is really so sweet and so life-giving.

So, it really is a win-win for all of us.

[film reel rattling] - A typical summer day at Blossom, will have Raimee arriving at the farm around 8:00.

- [Sayde] Ah, it's a nice morning.

- It is.

- Yeah.

- [Rebecca] And they go and spend about five minutes just setting some intention for the day.

[gentle music] - For this ordinary day.

- Yeah, it's really nice.

- [Rebecca] And then they come back, and we all go over what are the things that we need to accomplish in this day.

If we finish that, we can start working on Gomphrena.

If it's summer, we'll typically start off with a harvest.

Go team.

- [Sayde] You ready?

- Right?

- [Raimee] Mm-hm.

- All right.

- [Sayde] Let's go.

We each take a row and then kind of work our way down into A and B, Althea and Bertha.

How's it going, Rai?

- [Raimee] It's going good.

How's it going?

- Good.

- Raimee, at this point, knows how to do that really well and independently.

- [Raimee] Just puttin' 'em in each bucket.

- We put 'em in the bucket, and then they get made into- - To bouquets.

- Bouquets.

And then they go where?

- Each house.

- They go to each house that's out in the community.

- Yes.

- Put them in the bucket, and we'll move on to the marigolds.

Raimee is a strong farmer, a reliable farmer, a funny farmer.

You got a bee on the top of one of those, just so you know.

[Sayde chuckles] [Raimee blows] And he loves to grow flowers.

- [Raimee] Flowers are important to grow.

They make people very happy.

- [Sayde] What colors have you been seeing for the zinnias so far?

- Red and yellow.

- Red and yellow.

- We decided to grow flowers, because I wanted to attach beauty to a population that isn't often associated with beautiful things.

- [Raimee] Hmm, that one's not ready yet.

- [Rebecca] Each flower is unique.

Each variety has a special thing that they need you to pay attention to.

- Wait for it till it blooms.

- [Rebecca] And flowers, because when you deliver flowers to people, the response is always joy and gratitude.

- [Sayde] What days do we deliver, Rai?

- Wednesdays.

- Wednesdays.

- So the whole idea is we grow this beautiful organic product, but we want people to know that just because someone has a disability, it doesn't mean they don't have something beautiful to give back to the world.

- [laughs] Thank you.

- You're welcome.

[gentle piano music] - Rai, it's time.

- Okay.

- Good work.

- All set.

- [Sayde] Awesome.

You looking forward to choir?

- [Raimee] Yes.

- [Sayde] Yeah.

- Keith had actually heard about this group called Reality Ministries in his professional circle.

And I think when Raimee hit 14 and we were kind of in that hard age, [bright upbeat music] we were struggling to find social groups where he fit in.

[group speaking indistinctly] - Here are your flowers.

- Oh, thank you.

- Raimee!

Good to see you brother.

- [Raimee] Good to see you too.

- [Rebecca] And so he does a Monday night social club with Reality Ministries, and then on Tuesday, he's a part of the choir.

- [Speaker] We even pray for those that are struggling right now that doesn't have a home.

- I've always struggled a bit with faith-based organizations, and I had a lot of resistance around that.

[bright piano music] ♪ Oh, give me eyes of my own ♪ And I have never felt so much love and warmth and beauty in a room.

Reality Ministries just changed Rai's life.

- Oh-oh, Raimee, come on Raimee.

[laughing] - You feel it.

You just feel that warmth, that love, that connection.

- I am forever changed by that experience, by this community.

♪ This little light of mine ♪ [group clapping] And they just put their hearts into it.

They sing, they celebrate, and everybody's in harmony in the ways that really matter.

- [Speaker] Everybody, everybody.

[bright music] ♪ This little light of mine ♪ ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ [group clapping] - [Speaker] [indistinct] Give it up for Raimee!

[people speaking indistinctly] [film reel rattling] [crate clattering] - [Rebecca] So delivery day is Wednesday.

- We're doing some deliveries, every Wednesday.

- Every Wednesday, going to everyone's door.

Hopefully, we'll see a few people today.

- [Raimee] Yes.

- [Sayde] Yeah.

You love deliveries.

[bright guitar music] - [Rebecca] So he gets to take the fruits of his hard labor out into the world and see the response that's received from that work.

- Hey, Raimee.

- Flowers for the day.

- [Recipient] These are so beautiful.

Thank you, Raimee.

- See you soon.

- See you soon.

[Sayde laughs] - Raimee, just like everyone else in the world, likes to have someone say, "Good job," or- - [Rebecca] Oh, absolutely.

- [Keith] give you the pat on the back, and I think this gives him the opportunity to shine and have people really acknowledge his capabilities.

[gentle guitar music continues] [birds chirping] - Thank you, Raimee.

- You're welcome.

- I love it!

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- Aren't they pretty?

- [Keith] I just feel like a lot of that feeds into Raimee's disposition.

- What do you think?

- They're gorgeous, Rai.

- Yep.

- They're beautiful.

- You know, I just feel like all these ideas that Rebecca came up with for Blossom, seeing it come together and how it impacts Raimee has just been amazing.

- [Sayde] Rai, can you wave?

- I love what it's done and what it's been for him and for our family.

I wouldn't wanna do it any different.

[film reel rattling] - Okay, everyone- - Wait, is everybody here?

Do we say we're waiting?

- Nope.

- My name is Rebecca, and this is Raimee, and we co-founded the farm together in 2016.

So I'm a macro social worker.

I look at big systems, and I like to see how they can impact large populations.

[bright music] What I love about Blossom is how it has been such a great vehicle to support Raimee and has helped him achieve so many personal goals as a young adult.

- [Raimee] We call this space the original garden, because it is the original garden.

- Our vision for the farm is to really become a hybrid of a business and a program for individuals with and without disabilities, but really targeted more towards adults with disabilities to come out and be farmers for a day.

- Any questions about Cassidy, anyone?

- I think all of us crave jobs that are fulfilling and to me, this is the most fulfilling work I've ever experienced.

- And farming is North Carolina's number one industry, and farmers are struggling, so how wonderful if we could diversify our business models to include people with disabilities to not only grow food to feed the bodies of our communities, but also, food to feed the souls and the spirits of our community.

- Toast to Blossom.

- Of course, I think Raimee is unique, because he is.

But I don't think those gifts, I don't think this ability to bring light and love and beauty is unique to him.

And I feel that if we could create spaces like that for everyone, we would be a better community, we would be a more beautiful world.

[water splashes] ♪ Imagine all the people ♪ - To us, we think about the world that Raimee's gonna live in when we're no longer here.

And to find an area that has such a wonderful, supportive community for Raimee and his peers, it feels good.

- Boy, if the whole world could, [laughs] could do that, I just think of how we might show up different for each other, and I'm so incredibly grateful for this person who has made my life so rich and so meaningful in ways that I can't even begin to describe.

♪ And the world will be as one ♪ [group clapping] Beautiful.

Every day, Raimee teaches me [gentle violin music] that disability is not the same as inability.

You're amazing and smart and resourceful, and it's really a gift to be able to have a space where I get to see you lean into that part of your life.

- That was Rebecca Jean Sorensen.

[Rebecca laughing] She's my mom.