Musician and author Jonathan “Mookie” Morant has recently stepped into a new role: nonprofit founder.
Inspired by his young son, this summer Morant started up his new nonprofit foundation, “Rōman’s World,” which aims to directly assist families with children on the autism spectrum. Morant’s son, Rōman, a 6-year-old is autistic and non-verbal.
“And with that, he has the most beautiful smile you ever want to glance upon,” Morant told the City Paper. “He and his mom now live in Greenville, where she was able to get him into this incredible program called Project Hope, a nationwide autism therapy.”
But Morant underscored Roman’s experience getting into a helpful program (after two years of waiting) is not the case for so many families in South Carolina.
“He was on a two-year waiting list, and his mom got him in because she works in the medical world. But that doesn’t happen for a lot of families. What I’ve found through our experiences with Roman is that access for children and adults who need it desperately, is lacking in the state of South Carolina.”
So he decided to do something about it.
“There’s plenty of money in this state; it’s about getting access. I’m not a politician. But what I do know is I have some friends, like Laura Patrick, for example, who’s working with me on this, who raise money and do wonderful work for the American Cancer Society. So I’ve enlisted my friends’ help to get me started in my foundation for families with autism.”
The nonprofit focuses on assisting not only the autistic individuals, but the entire family, Morant said.
“It’s not just one individual who is affected,” he said. “It’s the whole family that needs help — simple things, like having a moment to give your child a bath.
“It’s a struggle of single moms all over the world, but with an autistic child, it’s that much deeper because there’s a necessity for direct attention… And many of these families will have to continue caring for their autistic children into adulthood. That all takes a lot of time and money.”
Morant said he learned just how big and diverse the issue was when he released his most recent book earlier this year, Letters to My Son, Rōman: Love on the Spectrum.
“I wanted to touch some hearts, so that when we do launch this foundation, people understand that this is real to me. I’m not just trying to be some guy out there fundraising. I want to help not only my son, but the many families who need this assistance.
“And after I put out the book, I started receiving messages, calls, correspondence, from people just relating to my experience being in an autism family.”
Direct assistance without red tape
The plan is to provide “direct financial assistance to families who need it,” Morant said. “Not the bureaucracy, not the red tape. Our version of red tape is to send us a video of you with your child or your experience. We will write you a check and help you find services.”
For the nonprofit’s first public event, Morant will partner with Layla Luna, the founder and CEO of the locally-based autism-focused organization Just Bee. They’ll host an Aug. 25 event at Bay Street Biergarten.
There’s also a soft launch for Roman’s World which at a private residence in Mount Pleasant, 6 p.m. July 18. Reach out to Morant by emailing themagnumdrummer@icloud.com if you’d like to attend and get involved.
“We will introduce not only the foundation itself, but we will share with you what is at the core of this movement; in a collection of personal stories directly from a few of the very families affected, some of whom have agreed to join us in person and/or via video testimonial.”
Morant said he’s grateful that the conversation around autism is expanding. “I want people to know it’s pervasive. Everybody’s waking up to it, and I’m glad. But let’s wake up to do something. Let’s get together. It just takes some initiative. My version is let me get some friends together and let’s make it happen.”
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