The Ottawa Police Department will host a sensory-friendly family event for Autism Acceptance Month from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, at Reddick Library Community Room.

The event, “Friendly Faces, Safe Spaces,” aims to build positive connections between families in the neurodivergent community and local first responders before any emergency contact occurs.

Detective Ozzy Landeros is organizing the event. They reached out to LINKED - Autism Safety Project to help families in the neurodivergent community register with the police department in case of an emergency.

The event will feature local resource centers speaking about their services. Reddick Library will provide activity stations where children can play and interact.

The event is designed as a low-pressure, inclusive space with no expectations or forced interactions. All families are welcome exactly as they are.

LINKED is a project of a nonprofit organization created by Ashley McClain, a mother of a child with autism.

The project aims to build relationships between emergency responders and members of the autism and special needs community. The initiative was created as a collaborative effort with public safety professionals, autism professionals and autism parents.

Landeros said conversations with families always ended with the same question: What resources does the area have for children affected by autism?

“My answer was always, I don’t know,” Landeros said, adding that the area had a gap in local resources for families with autistic children.

Landeros began researching events focused on inclusion within the autism community and decided to organize a meet-and-greet for families.

“Hopefully, we see a good turnout and are able to answer some questions for those families out there,” he said.

Landeros hopes the event will provide resources and support to families navigating autism and special needs.

All community members are invited to visit. The event is free and open to the public.