Four years ago, Candi Carter started a small group at her church, St. Luke's Episcopal church, for her son and other teenagers and young adults who were looking for a community. “I think a lot of times our kids are invisible because people look at a child in a wheelchair or a child with a disability and say, ‘Well, what does that kid need a friend for?’”

“It puts a smile on my face every single time,” Mathewson says of her We’ve Got Friends sessions. “It’s really fulfilling and I love that I’m able to make a difference in someone’s life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“We create the opportunity for these kids to find each other. They know this is their tribe.”

We’ve Got Friends, a local nonprofit organization that provides teens and young adults with special needs the opportunity to connect with their peers, held its second golf classic and dinner at Glen Ridge Country Club on Monday, August 23rd, 2021. 

"As a parent, Candi Carter noted that teenagers with developmental differences like her son, Emerson, have few opportunities to relax, connect and hang out — so she decided to create a space just for them."

Our first Golf Outing was held at Glen Ridge County Club, Glen Ridge, NJ on Monday, July 15, 2019.

"Something so basic is so important for our kids."

"For the first time in his life, he had friends. These boys sat with my son in the cafeteria weekly and read with him during the day. I had no idea."