NILES, Ohio - Promoting inclusion and accessibility is at the forefront of the missions for the Fairhaven Foundation and the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities. To help live that mission, a new sensory/calming room is set to open at Eastwood Field, allowing individuals with sensory processing challenges an opportunity to participate in more community events.

"This project just makes sense for everyone and really helps us in living our mission and allowing people to access spaces that maybe they couldn't access before," said Stephanie Champlin, Executive Director of the Fairhaven Foundation.

Scrappy's Safe Haven will open Saturday, June 29 to provide a tranquil retreat amidst the lively atmosphere of events like Scrappers baseball games and the Ability Walk 'N Roll.

It's a welcome addition for Shannon Hodge and her daughter Mileena, who has sensory disorder issues.

"We've been talking about trying to come to a Scrappers game, however we have not been able to because of the amount of people that show up to these, but being able to go into this room and take a break from that, I think this is something to look forward to with the girls," Hodge said.

The space features dimmed lighting, a sensory activity wall, a calming hurricane light tube station, bean bag chair, swivel globe chair, parent/caregiver seating, and a tv with a silent live feed of the game. The walls of the sensory room have been carefully insulated to reduce the noise of the stadium. Sound absorbing wall panels work to further reduce noise as well as offer sensory input.

It also includes a welcome area for individuals and families to use for transitioning in and out of the sensory room.

"Scrappy's Safe Haven really was thoughtfully designed with the needs of those we're serving in mind," Champlin said. "I've been through it with my own child and sometimes it's unpredictable when you are out in an event and this will just be a huge asset to so many."

The project is a partnership between the Fairhaven Foundation and the Trumbull County Board of DD and Champlin says it would not have been possible without the incredible support of community partners including DeSalvo Construction Company, the general contractor for the project and Baker Bednar Snyder & Associates.

"Without the support of all community partners, it would have been very difficult for us to realize this space," Champlin said. "DeSalvo was able to, through their partnership and through their donation, cut our cost for the space from $60,000 down to $30,000. Baker Bednar Snyder & Associates donated their entire fee, that was $15,000."

"When we were first asked about this project, it was a very easy yes, when we realized what the aspirations were relative to the funding that was in place for the project, we knew that we had to do some heavy lifting as a team to make this project happen and to deliver this project for this community and their family and particularly the most vulnerable of us, really meant a lot to us," said Joseph DeSalvo, President and Owner of DeSalvo Construction Company. "Many of us have children of our own and quite frankly there's times when we all need time to just decompress and feel safe and might be overstimulated and these children especially, for them to be able to come to the game and have a place to go in case they are overstimulated, because let's face it there is a lot happening at the ballpark, there's a lot of noises, sounds and smells and you know it's a challenging environment sometimes for all of us but especially for them."

Champlin, who has a son with developmental disabilities, says she knew there was a need for a quiet place for both children and adults at Eastwood Field and says the room creates opportunities.

"For families, for individuals, children and adults, sometimes it's really difficult to come out and continue to interact in the community when you have a loved one that is triggered by sounds and lots of people and smells and we want to encourage those families to continue to keep trying and keep living," Champlin said. "We're all here together, this is all shared space and we really need to be doing everything we can to include everyone and now with the addition of this space and the new universal changing space we just added in the stadium, this stadium is now fully accessible for families and not just families in Trumbull County, anyone that is coming to this space can use it anytime they need."

The space is designed to ensure that everyone can enjoy America's favorite pastime or other events in a welcoming and supportive environment.

"This project just makes sense for everyone and really helps us in living our mission and allowing people to access spaces that maybe they couldn't access before," Champlin said.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for Scrappy's Safe Haven will take place Saturday, June 29 at 4:30pm.

Saturday night is also DD Awareness night at Eastwood Field. This special evening is made possible through a collaboration between Fairhaven Foundation, Trumbull, Columbiana, and Mahoning County Boards of DD. The MV Scrappers will be wearing a special edition jersey that promotes the message of we're "Better Together" during the game. 30 limited edition jerseys will be auctioned off to fans to benefit The Fairhaven Foundation. 1400 individuals from the three agencies will participate in various activities on game night, including: The National Anthem (sung by Nikko Cappitte, TCBDD), God Bless America (sung by Jeanie Arnotto, CCBDD), throwing out the first pitch of the game, and the Field of Dreams experience.