Call this, in the words of the late Mister Rogers, “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” Tthat’s just what it was on this radiant and sunny Wednesday at the corner of Broadfoot Avenue and Branson Street on Haymount Hill.
You only needed to look into the faces of Michael Brown and Marina Howell to know the poignancy of this day as they cut the red ribbons on the blue and green cottages soon to become their respective homes on the nonprofit Friendship House campus.
“My life changed in a way I never imagined,” Brown, 31, told about 75 people. “Today, I have lifelong friends. Today marks a major milestone in my life.”
The cottages are the second phase of Friendship House, circa 2018, providing apartments for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to provide intentional, transitional living.
Howell, 30, could not contain her joy on this day.
“Living at Friendship House helped me grow personally as I move into the cottage,” she said. “I want to show I’m capable of living independently, and I want others to know they are more capable than they think.”
Let there be no mistake about this day in the old Haymount neighborhood.
“A brighter future for those with developmental disabilities,” Jason Amorose, executive director of Employment Source, which owns and operates Friendship House of Fayetteville. “For the four individuals moving in, we look forward to watching you grow.”
Rev. Chip Stapleton, senior pastor at nearby Highland Presbyterian Church, blessed the day.
“It’s a joy to be here today,” he said. “As pastor at Highland Presbyterian, we’re sort of in the business of friendship, and we are so happy to have Friendship House as our neighbor. We give thanks for the people who made this possible. We recognize these cottages are more than buildings. All our lives are made richer.”
Weyher Dawson, an Employment Source board member, said construction of the cottages is another step of compassion as a “beacon of hope,” and “together we are creating a lasting legacy that everyone has a place to call home.”
Andrew Rind is chief program officer for Employment Source.
“I want to thank those who have believed in this mission,” he said. “It is the community of Fayetteville that has brought this to life. Let us remember, the story of Friendship House is about the lives we uplift.”
And a part of the story is Scott Cameron, the neonatal intensive care unit physician at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, who believed the Friendship House could be a place where students studying health care could live and learn alongside those with developmental disabilities.
He never stopped believing in what the three buildings, replete with a barn and garden, could be in this community or in the difference it could make in the lives of the people who call Friendship House home.
“Thank you to Andrew Rind, Jason Amorose,” Cameron said, “and for Tara Hinton’s individual fundraising. We would not be standing here if not for Tara’s fundraising efforts.”
Nor would the cottages be ready for occupancy if not for the benevolence of local builders Ben Stout and Hunter Armstrong. Or for the financial generosity of the late Connie Bubon.
‘I’ll Do It … The Whole Thing’
“There were two abandoned houses on this lot,” Cameron, 56, said. “There were scrub oaks and trash.”
He remembered telling Bubon that some of the developmentally disabled residents needed an opportunity for more independent living.
“She stared at the property,” Cameron said. “And she said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And then she said, ‘I’ll do it … the whole thing.’”
A retired registered nurse, Connie Bubon believed in helping others. She dedicated her time trying to make a positive change for those around her. She contributed generously so that young people with disabilities in her grandson’s community would continue to have housing together.
“Connie made a very generous donation of stock to CCF to the Friendship House of Fayetteville Campaign Fund, which CCF then distributed 100% to the Friendship Community Gardens in September 2020 as per her instructions,” said Mary Holmes, who is president and chief executive officer of the Cumberland Community Foundation.
Constance “Connie” F. Bubon died peacefully at age 90 on March 7, 2025, at her home in Ashburn, Virginia.
The cottages will be known as the Connie Bubon Campus.
Linda Holden was among those in attendance Wednesday, and broke into tears when Cameron said the green cottage Marina Howell will share with roommate Vickie Hall will be named in honor of Holden at the request of Matt and Patty McClimon.
“He said, ‘I’d love to do it,’” Cameron said. “She has been like a mother to me.”
It was an emotional moment.
“It was such a sweet gesture,” Holden later said, “and my late husband Les thought a lot of Matt.”
Leslie A. Holden was 68 when he died December 22, 2020.
The blue cottage, Cameron said, will be named in honor of Ben Stout, who is owner and chief executive officer of Ben Stout Construction and the general contractor who built the cottages cost-free to Friendship House.
The 900-square-foot cottages have two bedrooms, and each includes a walk-in shower, bathroom, a kitchen, and a common area living room.
“The building of these cottages wasn’t easy,” Cameron told those in attendance. “The friends are modeling for us how to love one another, and for that, we owe them a big thank you.”
Epilogue
Andrew Rind said it well in telling us that Wednesday was another story in the life of the Friendship House about uplifting lives.
And Michael Brown added another chapter to the story.
“My life changed in a way I never imagined,” he said, not from a script, but from Michael Brown’s heart. “… Today marks a major milestone in my life.”
A beautiful day, let there be no doubt, in the neighborhood along Broadfoot Avenue and Branson Street on Haymount Hill.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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