Heidi lives on in special-needs group

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Before her death in May at the age of 32, Heidi Brand knew that her name, more specifically her first name, was going to live on after her.

Heidi grew up in Gillespie. She had a brain tumor removed at the age of 6. The surgery and tumor left her developmentally disabled. As an adult, she moved out of the home of her parents, Gerald and Sandi, and came to Springfield to live in Near North Village, an apartment building for the disabled.

“She was the Ann Landers of Near North village,” says her dad. By that he means that other residents used to bring their problems to Heidi. “She was always trying to help people. People would talk to her about this and that.”

Her desire to help extended to her disabled community. Heidi was a member of Springfield Area Disability Activists, Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois and Springfield Center for Independent Living.

Pete Roberts, executive director at SCIL, says Heidi was particularly focused on transportation issues for the disabled.

“It was things that were affecting her,” Pete says, “things revolving around transportation. She would come and talk about issues she had. By doing that, she helped improve the Access Springfield transportation system.”

Heidi had dreamed about creating some kind of organization to further the work she was already doing. As for what to call it, nobody knew.

“We said it would be nice if someday we could start some organization to help special-needs people in our area,” Gerald says. “She would come home every couple of weeks from Springfield. We were watching TV and I just took her name and a piece of scratch paper and starting figuring things out, wording-wise, with `Heidi.”’

Here is what he came up with: Helping Every Individual Develop Independence.

“She said, `That’s kinda neat, Dad.’ “ Gerald remembers. Two months later, she was gone. She died on May 26 at Hillsboro Area Hospital.

When it’s quiet around the Brand home, Gerald listens to a voice in the wind. “We have a wind chime by the patio,” he says. “All I have to do is sit down there, and she’ll start talking to me.”

Heidi is gone, yes, but HEIDI is very much alive.

In the months since their daughter’s death, Heidi’s parents have gotten the organization they named for her up and running. It has a website (heidihelps.com), a seven-member board of directors, has a not-for-profit application pending with the IRS and has already had a couple of fundraisers with more upcoming.

People have been selling shirts, hats, stickers, key rings and bracelets to raise money for HEIDI. It began with that night in March watching TV at home.

“We didn’t do anything with it then,” says Gerald, “but after she died, it came back into my memory. I called a few people, and they liked the idea.

“This, we hope, turns into something big. It’s not people with polio, not people with cancer, it’s special-needs people; not just kids, either.”

There will be an application process for people who have specific needs. The HEIDI board will go over those applications and select Gillespie-area disabled residents who will receive assistance.

There are other organizations dedicated to helping the disabled, but this one is unique because of the back story and because it’s named for a local resident who was developmentally disabled. Its mission statement backs that up. It begins with this:

“Every individual, man, woman, and child, deserves the opportunity to live a happy and independent life. The HEIDI fund was established in honor and memory of Heidi Brand who held this belief more dear than any other.”