Roses for Autism will be closing on June 15 due to financial troubles, which has families associated with this Shoreline workplace concerned about their children’s futures.
Work has already begun to dismantle the rose-growing business at 929 Boston Post Road. Rose bushes are for sale and a dumpster is situated outside the first greenhouse as you drive into the business.
Roses for Autism will begin bringing flowers from off site, beginning in mid-April, to fill future orders, including Mother’s Day.
Since 2009, the nonprofit organization Roses for Autism, in partnership with its parent company, Ability Beyond, has helped more than 123 individuals with autism gain valuable hands-on work experience at the historic Pinchbeck Farm.
Located on 38 acres, the heated greenhouse grows and sells a variety of fresh-cut flowers, including roses, lilies and Gerbera daisies. In 2016, the Lavende rose was used to bottle Ardent Rose perfume.
The business model, known as a social enterprise, is a combination program and business operated simultaneously. Yet, a trifecta of concerns has made it unsustainable.