A burst pipe flooded an indoor sensory gym, for children with special needs, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, and days later, it’s still drying out.
The owners of We Rock the Spectrum say the’ve been devastated by the flooding, and that families who depend on them haven’t been able to get their kids the program they’ve come to rely on for
“We’re pretty devastated. I mean, when I first got the video from the manager, I started crying immediately,” co-owner Melissa Defay said.
She and her sister spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to open the gym during the COVID pandemic.
Now, because of the flooding, birthday parties have been canceled and expensive sensory equipment and educational tools will have to be replaced, Defay said.
“Their whole motto is, like, a place where you never have to say you’re sorry and so we always come here and know that his behaviors are understood,” said Samantha Sexton, whose 5-year-old Isaiah is a regular at We Rock the Spectrum.
“Having that kind of pulled away is a bit difficult for us,” she added.
On top of the damage from the flooding, Defay noted that state funding for afterschool programs like theirs may be in jeopardy due to ongoing budget cuts at the federal level.
Families, she said, “really have come to depend on this program Monday through Friday, and now we really don’t know when we will be able to reopen.”
