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When bus driver Jose Aviles first met Robert Mullen on his route for YAI's Tarrytown day habilitation program three years ago, the two instantly hit it off. “Robert always sees me with my veteran’s hat and that’s how we connected and we became buddies,” Aviles explained.
Aviles was in the Army for 20 years and is happy to share his experiences with Mullen, who is a huge military history fan. That past Veteran’s Day, Aviles decided to surprise Mullen with a veteran’s hat. Aviles shared his plan with Supervisor Mary Gambino so that he and some of his veteran friends could come to surprise Mullen at Tarrytown. However, the staff and program participants at Tarrytown had a surprise of their own.
When Aviles and his friends from his motorcycle club came by the day hab, they were shocked by the greeting they received. More than 100 staff and people we support had made “thank you” signs to greet them.
“Usually we go to the city, but this year we decided to go to YAI and everyone was outside,” said Aviles. “They had flags, posters, balloons—my friends almost cried. They were hugging me and my friends and thanking them, too. It was a beautiful day.”