Andrew Doumit can barely contain his excitement as his mother, Terri, gives him a shave and cuts his hair. She then brings out the main attraction of the proceedings, his brand new tuxedo t-shirt.
When he slips into it, he is ready to party, and then his date arrives.
Andrew is getting to attend Joy Prom, an event hosted by Mount Vernon Church which gives people with special needs the full prom experience. This is the first Joy Prom since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
“This was Andrew’s third year as a participant,” Terri said. “He has been anxiously awaiting it since the last time they had one. It was four years ago. It’s just one of the very few events, I think, that are set aside or created for the special needs community. So, I think most people who get to attend are pretty excited when this time comes around.”
Andrew’s date, Morgan Jones was honored to be chosen.
“We had a prior relationship before Joy Prom so he knew me and we thought that would be better, for him to go with someone he knew,” Jones said. “It was just a really great experience, I can’t really put it into words, honestly.”
Terri was overjoyed to see Jones accept the invitation. She loves Jones and thought she would be a great date for Andrew.
“She has got the purest spirit,” Terri said. “Andrew has met Morgan before and they had a really good rapport with each other and she’s got a very gentle manner about her but she’s fun-loving at the same time.”
When Morgan arrived, they set about giving Andrew the full prom experience. They took pictures and such and then headed to Mississippi University for Women’s Pohl Gymnasium.
Upon arriving, Andrew and Jones were treated to the red carpet experience.
“As they arrive, each one gets announced by name and they walk this red carpet and there are 200 or 300 paparazzi around them cheering for them and flash bulbs going off and everything else,” said Todd Stevens, lead pastor for Mount Vernon. “That’s how they enter the prom.”
Events like these are important, Terri said, because they allow people with special needs to have experiences that are commonplace to many.
“Being that they have a date, who is a typically developing person, they get to have that experience of just going and having a good time,” Terri said. “And the attendants that are with them are just very caring and compassionate. They seem to really want to be there. … Nobody’s really treated differently.”
This is the goal of the event’s coordinators.
“The whole premise of it is to give them a special night because a lot of them don’t get invited to attend their high school prom or the things that we look at as normal, everyday things we get to do,” said Brandon Allen, youth pastor at Mount Vernon. “So we want to make sure we are giving them the opportunity to feel special and we want to celebrate them too. Whereas a lot of times they kind of get overlooked or kind of pushed to the side. We want to show them, ‘You matter.’ We want to show their families that they matter and what they do matters.”
The youth ministry at the church takes the lead on the project and does much of the work. The students also serve as the dates for the prom-goers.
Jones said she was amazed at the care and compassion the students showed during the event.
“Everyone was so caring and understanding,” she said. “I think it’s a great experience for the escorts because not everybody knows how to treat or go about treating those that are disabled. So, having teenagers involved and knowing how to care for them, (is important). There was a 15-year-old boy, and he was wiping the chocolate off of his date’s fingers and making sure she was really taken care of. It really amazed me.”
This is not her first Joy Prom, similar to Andrew. Whether acting as a date, or just helping by volunteering, she has been around the prom for years and plans to continue attending.
For Terri, seeing Andrew get to have an experience that so many others have had filled her with joy.
“As a mom, it’s just nice to have something your child can do like everyone else’s children get to participate in,” she said.
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