My Nonprofit Reviews

Three of my five children have severe autism. I learned of Beautiful Brokenness through a ministry for special needs adults. My son, Matthew, loved the horses right away. Though we have animals at home, there is something very special about Katy and her horses that Matthew “made a connection with”. Matthew became “The Muck Manager”. Katy let us come out every week and see the horses and help clean the stalls in the barn. Matthew began telling people it was “his work”. He has very limited expressive language. However, each week he woke before dawn and had himself ready to go hours before we were scheduled to go. Katy is able to communicate God’s love to Matthew and others in such an amazing way without using words! After Matt had been so impacted by this ministry, my other children wanted to be involved. Jesse, who has autism and is wheelchair bound, Hallie, who has autism, and Hannah also began “helping Ms. Katy” in the barn. My family has been involved with Beautiful Brokenness for several years. We have been so blessed by Katy and her horses. They have provided a sense of belonging and usefulness for Matthew and acceptance for Jesse and Hallie. We are so grateful for the time we have spent there!

I am the mom of a client. My son, Matthew has Autism. He was blessed to come to Beautiful Brokenness through the RISE program sponsored by Lake of the Woods Church. Katy taught him to lead the horse, White Star, and to Motion for her to stand on a platform. He brushed her and hugged her. He had an enormous smile on his face during the entire time he worked with Katy and White Star. I found myself wiping tears of joy several times. I had been looking for a meaningful “job” for Matthew. Because he seemed to love the horse so much, I asked if I could bring Matthew on a weekly basis to volunteer by cleaning out the barn stalls. Katy welcomed Matthew and I to take on this role. For Matthew, this is his “JOB”. He tells people he works at Beautiful Brokenness horse farm. It has become a weekly joy for him to interact with the horses. He identifies himself as having purpose helping the horses. We have animals at home but there is something about the horses that Matthew loves. Beautiful Brokenness has given him a unique opportunity to serve. It has truly been a blessing for our family!