Best Buddies is expanding. The nonprofit that supports people with disabilities now offers a new program. It provides support to families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Heather Walker has tonight’s 7Spotlight. We all know it’s not easy being a mom. Having a baby with a disabilities makes it even harder. Kelly Caba is smiling now, but when she first learned her daughter, Abby, was going to be born with Down syndrome — she was heartbroken. Kelly Caba: ” You don’t know what to think. You don’t know what this is. I didn’t know anybody with Down syndrome. I don’t understand what this means.” She says she was in shock. Kelly Caba: “Honestly, it was the roughest thing because you are actually grieving the child that you thought you were going to have.” In that moment, she didn’t know what to do next. Kelly Caba: “I contemplated termination.” But then, she met a mom and her very special daughter. Kelly Caba: “That’s the first time I said ‘We were going to be OK,’ because I saw a child with Down syndrome. I saw her, I saw her running, I saw her playing.” Kelly said that meeting changed everything. Kelly Caba: “The love I had for her was greater than the fear I had of her diagnosis.” Now Kelly is helping other moms through a new program called Eunie’s Buddies. The nonprofit is named after Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who created The Special Olympics. The group matches expecting parents who will have a disabled child with a mentor who has gone through the challenges they are about to face. Camila Carpenter: “It’s great, my mentor is Kelly. She is amazing, she is wonderful. She calls me to check on me regularly which is awesome. She is the sweetest person.” Camila Carpenter gave birth to her son, Noah, in February. She said her mentor from Eunie’s Buddies has been a blessing. Camila Carpenter: “She’s walked my shoes and it’s different and it’s different getting a perspective from a mom because that’s what I needed. So different milestones that Noah is falling behind on and now I’m not so worried anymore.” Whenever Camila needs a recommendation for a doctor, school or just a friend who will listen, her mentor is there and the support goes both ways. Kelly Caba: “I love it because it’s building community and building community is what makes us stronger. We want a better future for our kids, we want a better outcome for our kids, and we can get that once we get to know each other and we work together.” Because it takes a village to raise a child. Heather Walker, 7News. And if you’re interested, join us this Saturday at 8 a.m. for the annual Ed Ansin Best Buddies Friendship Walk at loanDepot Park. If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com. ...read more read less