TLC (Tammy Lynn Center) was founded in 1969 to improve options for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Back in the 1960s, parents of children with disabilities had very few choices: they could institutionalize their child at a distant facility with poor living conditions, or they could try to care for them at home with little to no outside support. 

Sarah Crawford, Tammy Lynn Center CEO, hugs June Noland, who has lived at TLC for 40 years. 

“TLC began as a mom’s morning out program in the basement of a church in Cary,” explains CEO Sarah Crawford, who has felt called to do this work. “We were founded by three families — the Moore, Tucker, and Pierce families – and the Pierce’s daughter was named Tammy Lynn. Tammy Lynn never got to live here with us, but she was the inspiration for why we needed these services in Wake County.  Today, our programs serve over 1,000 families.”

Situated on a 9-acre campus on Chappell Drive, TLC features three on-site residences that provide loving, nurturing 24-hour care for 30 children and adults with profound disabilities and complex medical needs. “These are individuals who rely on other people for total personal care, for support, for eating, communicating, getting around, all of their daily needs that you and I do every day on our own,” Sarah explains. “We have folks who have lived with us almost their entire lives. They started with us when they were children and now are in their 40s and 50s. We’ve provided a lifespan of services for them.”  

TLC offers a wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic services onsite, an adult day program, respite care, and other support services for individuals and families in their homes and out in the community. They also operate four group homes that enable an additional 15 individuals to live more independently with staff support.

“Our staff is absolutely incredible,” says Sarah. “They show up every day because they love our clients, and they believe in our mission to empower individuals of all abilities to live their fullest lives.” TLC’s staff consists of 150 highly trained professionals ranging from nurses — CNAs, LPNs, and RNs – to psychologists, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, and nutritionists, as well as speech and language pathologists. They also have staff to plan enrichment activities, care managers to help families navigate Medicaid, and a family services team to work with families on how best to support their loved ones.

“When you have a child with disabilities, that doesn’t just impact that one person, it impacts the entire family,” says Sarah. “You have mom and dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles who are stopping everything to figure out how to best support the child.  We really try to be that place that can either help provide services or make a referral to help those families locate the services they need.”

TLC has been a member of TowneBank since 2014 and appreciates their guidance. “TowneBank is an amazing community partner and has a fantastic acumen for how to best help nonprofits. Towne has helped us think about how to put our organization in the best financial position possible so that we can invest back in our programs, invest back in our staff, and focus on how we can grow and serve even more people in the community,” says Sarah.

TLC recently unveiled a new residence building as part of a $9.8 million capital campaign to update their three long-term care homes. “TowneBank was one of the first contributors to our capital campaign and has made significant investments to ensure that we could construct the building and continue with those renovation projects,” says Sarah. “On top of that, they have helped us with a construction line of credit should we need it. In the event that we are still waiting on pledge payments when construction payments are due, we won’t lose any momentum in this campaign.”

The Tammy Lynn Center is situated on a 9-acre campus in a beautiful setting west of Raleigh. 

Sarah, who also serves as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, feels called to speak up for those who can’t. “I serve on the health care committee and on the committee for aging, children and families, which is all very connected to the work that I do here,” she says. “One of the things I try to do in the General Assembly is bring my unique experience with the disabled population in our state to help my colleagues understand what’s happening on the ground level and how certain policies will impact their ability to continue to provide these services. I try to advocate for people with disabilities across our state as so many still need services.”

Sarah concludes, “I’m really led by Isaiah 6:8 which says, ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go before us?’ And I said, ‘here I am, send me.’ I really believe that.”

For more information on TLC, visit NCTLC.org.