HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — ‘We Like to Party, Too’ is more than just another party.
It is an opportunity for adults living with ‘different abilities’ to enjoy a night dance party, which is something many of them are not used to.
Diedra LaShae McKesson, 34, has been asking her brother and sister-in-law, Lizetta McKesson, to go out for a night of dancing.
“Diedre has been asking for years to go to the club,” said Lizetta McKesson, her loving caregiver. “I said, ‘Let’s bring the club to her.’ They can be comfortable. We can feel comfortable [as] the guardians, parents, [or] caretakers in a space where they know that their person is enjoying themselves and they’re safe.”
In March, on World Down Syndrome Day, about 200 people attended the party at the Kroc Center in Norfolk. Several tickets were donated after 10 On Your Side shared the story.
“Once people saw the interview on WAVY, … we started slowly picking up momentum,” McKesson said. “Even the parents and the staff and the guardians, they were like, ‘When are y’all going to do this again?’ We’ve never had anything like this. …”
Families and caregivers traveled from all over Hampton Roads.
“We had a good amount of people come from across the water,” McKesson said. “It really excited me that they took the time to come across the water.”
The demand was so high from the Peninsula that the ‘party girls’ decided to organize another party at the Hampton Convention Center. For the second party, 225 people showed up.
“It was good! It was good! I got my makeup done,” said Lexi R., who attended the party. “Got my hair done that night. It looks pretty. I danced a lot!”
Two buses from St. Mary’s Home in Norfolk brought six residents to dance the night away.
Deneka Akridge has been a physical therapy tech and direct support staff member at the home for nearly a decade.
“My son was developmentally delayed,” Akridge said. “I also helped take care of my grandmother when she was dying, so it’s near and dear to my heart.”
Akridge and nine of her colleagues worked together to attend the nighttime event.
“I happened to see the news story the first time they had the ‘We Like to [Party Too], the first party that was at the Kroc Center,” Akridge said. “But it was too late by the time I saw the story for me to go and pass this event on to my other departments whom I needed to collaborate, … so when I saw the news story the second time, I said, ‘OK, we are going to do this.'”
She advocates for people to be more accepting of people with what she calls ‘different abilities.’
“It’s really important that they go to these events and see people who have different abilities just like them, but they are still having a great time,” Akridge said.
They want to be part of this community. Lexi wants to be part of the community, and she is part of the community! That’s what we strive for here at St. Mary’s to truly give these young children and young adults a really good life. That’s whatever it is to them. It’s not about what we think their good life is, it’s about what their good life is to them. So Lexi, that night, part of her good life was going out dancing and having a good time with our friends!
— Deanna Akridge, physical therapy tech and direct support staff member at St. Mary’s Home
The goal is to have another ‘We Like to Party, Too!’ event in Richmond.
“We want to make this a national tour,” McKesson said. “We started at home, but the momentum was picking up. Diedra and I, we’re just going to see where this goes. We want to take it further. We want to take it to the next level.”
To assist, sponsor, or attend the We Like to Party, Too event, email weliketoparty2@gmail.com.