InTucker Magazine

Newcomers Serve Community: Peter & Paul’s Place

Tucker has a very active volunteer and service community. If there is a cause you want to support, there exists either a group working to do the same, or individuals who share your vision and would love the opportunity to support that cause at your side.

Such is the story of Peter and Paul’s Place, Inc., an organization that aims to give adults with intellectual disabilities opportunities to live, socialize and learn in a supportive, inclusive community.

Peter and Paul’s Place was founded by Lois Shingler and Charlotte McKinnon, who were inspired to create the organization by their sons, Paul Shingler and Peter McKinnon. Growing up, the boys’ families worked to ensure Peter and Paul had access to the same kinds of activities as other children, such as Boy Scouts, swimming, and other group activities. They found that once adults with intellectual development disabilities, or IDD, left the school system, it was more difficult to find opportunities for them to stay involved in the community. Thus, Peter and Paul’s Place was established to create those opportunities.

The organization provides events, classes, and other engagement options to adults with IDD and their loved ones. Currently they offer art classes and seasonal dances at the Tucker Recreation Center; however, it is the hope of Peter and Paul’s Place to create a community center of their own. This community center would have rooms for classes, a larger space to serve as a venue for events, a resource center and more necessities that aren’t possible to maintain in a rented location.

More than acquiring a single community center, Peter and Paul’s Place biggest goal is to make a residential community where individuals with IDD, their friends and families can “live together as neighbors, socialize together as friends, learn together as students and support each other when needed.”

Organizations like Peter and Paul’s Place engage Tucker residents with a heart for service and highlight the importance of community. Learn more about their mission and work at peterandpaulsplace.org.