Resilient Retreat Hosts Drive-In Movie, Groundbreaking Friday

SARASOTA, FL — Resilient Retreat, a nonprofit that works with individuals impacted by trauma and abuse, host a drive-in family movie and groundbreaking for their new facility on Friday.

The organization will screen “The Wizard of Oz” at the site of its future home, located at 13010 Fruitville Road in Sarasota. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the screening will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 with no limit for passengers and can be purchased online here.

The nonprofit was founded two years ago, offering various free programs, including support groups, neuro feedback sessions, equine therapy and educational events, at venues throughout the Sarasota community, said Lisa Intagliata, executive director.

The programs are geared towards survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault. The group’s outreach has shifted a bit during the COVID-19 pandemic to include first responders, doctors, nurses, teachers and others on the front line of dealing with coronavirus.

“When COVID hit in March, it made the need for our services quite valuable in our community,” Intagliata said, adding, “Teachers are stressed out to the max.”

They had always planned to build a retreat center and permanent community center but weren’t sure what it would look like until they were gifted 84 acres on Fruitville Road, just east of I-75, by an anonymous donor. Resilient Retreat will conserve much of the property, building on only 1 percent of the land.

“It’s absolutely pristine land with oak trees and hanging moss and gardens,” she said.

The planned 20,000-square-foot retreat center will house up to 30 people for three- and five-day intensive retreats. While there, attendees can sample various therapies – yoga, meditation, nutrition, equine, neuro feedback – Intagliata said. “We’re really trying to build a customer menu for what works for them, for their mind, body and spirit.”

They can continue with their preferred programs after the retreat.

The community center will be used for day-to-day programs, including workshops, lectures, exercise classes.

Many organizations handle emergency situations involving domestic abuse and sexual assault as they occur. Resilient Retreat comes at these issues from a different perspective.

“What we’re doing is being responsive to an unmet need, offering a long-term supportive community for people to plug into, really for their lifetime,” she said. “There really isn’t a model like this, at least not in Florida, if not nationwide.”

Construction begins following Friday’s groundbreaking. The build will take two years with a grand opening planned for Fall 2022. The first retreat will likely take place in December 2022.

The nonprofit has launched a Road to Resilience capital campaign to raise $7 million for construction of the new facility. Donations can be made here.