A night of great live music, food, and a one-of-a-kind venue all in support of helping local youth on the autism spectrum takes place this weekend in Fort Myers.

To raise funds for its expanding organization dedicated to enriching the lives of families and children impacted by autism spectrum disorder, Family Initiative will host “Rock Autism” for ages 21 and older on March 5 from 6 to 10 p.m.

The event takes place inside Paragon Flight Training’s airline hangar at Page Field in Fort Myers.

Rock Autism was initially set for March of 2020, but COVID-19 pushed the event back to this year.

“We finally got to a place where we felt good about rolling this event back out, and we’re super excited,” said Family Initiative co-founder and President, David Brown. “The venue and live music we have are amazing. It’s going to be a great opportunity to get some folks out and continue our mission of being a champion for autism acceptance.”

Tickets for Rock Autism are $50 and include backstage access at Paragon Flight Training to tour its state-of-the-art airplane hangar and beer options presented by Suncoast Beverage. The country music duo, Chasing Denver, will kick off the live music followed by ’70s cover band, The Rosada Project, as the night’s headliner. Food and cocktail trucks will be available, including Red Roc Cravings, Vibe & Spice and Dave’s Neapolitan Pizza. Parking is free at Brooks Community Park with shuttles running to and from the airline hangar throughout the night.

Proceeds from the event will go toward Family Initiative’s focus on the growth and expansion of programs, clinicians and funding to provide more families and children with the highest quality of care in the community and beyond. The team of professionals at Family Initiative is dedicated to ensuring the children and families they serve are given the tools to thrive for the rest of their lives.

Family Initiative provides clinical, behavioral and educational programs to families and children on the spectrum in addition to state and local advocacy within the community and the child welfare system. Family Initiative applies innovative methods to traditional clinical practices through personalized approaches centered around the individual.

The organization’s Family Initiative Lizbeth Benacquisto Autism Support Center opened in Cape Coral nearly one year ago, and is working to help as many families in a growing Southwest Florida find the care they need.

“Every night of the week we have programming running out of that building,” Brown said. “Just to have a venue where we can host groups on a weekly basis is so beneficial. We have families that drive a long way to see us. With all of the challenges and issues in the last few years, it has been great for us to help with the navigation of things like the school system, resources they have access too — and all of these community-based programs are free or low-cost. We really rely on private donations and proceeds from our events to continue to make our services available.”

Brown said six years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified that one in every 101 children in the United States was diagnosed as on the spectrum. Now, the CDC reports that one in 44 children will be diagnosed on the spectrum.

With the region’s population steadily growing (including many young families), the number of individuals seeking assistance continues to amplify.

“Just the prevalence we’re seeing nationally speaks to the exponential increase we’re seeing with families reaching out to us,” Brown said. “Our phone is ringing off the hook every day with people having just moved down here looking for services and resources.

“The gratitude we have with how fantastic the community has been is immense. We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to expand programs and capacity to try and meet the need.”

Family Initiative, while working to serve as many families as possible, does experience a waiting list with certain programs. Brown said events such as Rock Autism play a vital role in being able to expand staff and available offerings.

“These kinds of events, and support from the community, are key to continue to try and scale and meet the demand of the area. It’s vital,” he said.

The Family Initiative Lizbeth Benacquisto Autism Support Center is at 730 S.W. 4th St. Visit www.fi-florida.org for more information and tickets for Rock Autism. Paragon Flight Training’s airline hangar is at 511 Danley Drive in Fort Myers.

–Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj