Autism Nonprofit Faces Uncertain Future - Health News Story - WSMV Nashville

Autism Nonprofit Faces Uncertain Future - Health News Story - WSMV Nashville

GALLATIN, Tenn. -- It has helped hundreds of families, but now a local nonprofit needs the public's help.Faces of Hope works with children who have autism. It has had a big impact in a short time, but the group faces a financial shortfall and, for now, an uncertain future."This is the first year -- of course, we just had Mother's Day -- that he just, you know, (said) 'Happy Mother's Day,'" said mother Kimberly Payne. "And he knows what it means and for him to come up and hug you and say, 'I love you.' We didn't have that for a real long time."Leslie Face-Lee founded the autism nonprofit in 2007 out of necessity and soon discovered a calling."I have two little boys that have autism," said Face-Lee. "(I) worked as a paramedic, have a master's degree in education, but I felt hopeless, and it just occurred to me that if I felt that way, I wonder what other families feel like."Just a few years in, the group is growing, already benefiting more than 300 families."But our policy at Faces of Hope is that we don't turn anybody away, regardless of their ability to pay," said Face-Lee.It's a noble cause, but it's also an expensive one.