Permission to Make a Mess: A Visit to The Process
Last week after work, I headed to Port Huron, Michigan, a waterfront city at the southern end of Lake Huron with a welcoming, small-town feel, to visit The Process, a hands-on art and science center founded by Leah Tyrrell. There is plenty to appreciate about a place that welcomes paint, slime, glue, and experimentation. What I keep coming back to, though, is something Leah said about what she hopes visitors find there:
“What we really sell is self-permission.”
She explained what that permission looks like:
“Permission to try something. Permission to get it wrong. Permission to participate in your own way. Permission to take up space and just be who you are.”
That idea feels very familiar to those of us at Progressive Lifestyles.
A place where you can just be
Leah had dreamed about The Process for years before getting the keys to its first space at Birchwood Mall in 2023. She wanted to create a place where art and science could be explored without so much concern about doing things the “right” way. At the heart of that vision was safety.
As a parent of autistic children, she understood how difficult it could be to find places where her family could feel comfortable being themselves.
“You didn’t have to apologize or explain yourself. You could just be.”
There is a lot packed into those two sentences. Being welcomed means being able to participate without spending the whole time monitoring whether your movements, your volume, or your way of interacting are making someone else uncomfortable. It means having room to enjoy yourself.
At Progressive Lifestyles, our Culture of Gentleness centers on helping those we support feel safe and valued. The environment we create, the relationships we build, and the way we respond to someone all matter. When you feel secure with the people around you, there is more room for curiosity, connection, and trying something unfamiliar.
Leah built that understanding into the purpose of The Process.
The good stuff happens in the middle
The name of the organization itself reflects her approach. We tend to celebrate the beginning of an idea and the finished result. The space between them gets less attention: the experimenting, the unexpected outcomes, the changes of direction.
“That’s the messy middle, and there’s something really delicious about it,” Leah explained. “That’s where all the good stuff happens.”
At The Process, visitors have room to explore that middle. Everyone does not need to leave with an identical finished project. An experiment can lead somewhere unexpected. Making something can be worthwhile simply because you enjoyed making it.
That matters across a lifetime. Adults deserve opportunities to explore, play, create, and discover what interests them, too. For the adults we support at Progressive Lifestyles, meaningful community access includes having choices about how to spend their time and opportunities to contribute in ways that feel like their own.
A welcoming space makes more of those possibilities available.
A community taking shape
The Process has followed its own winding path. As families came back for more visits, they got to know one another and the team. Visitors shared what they needed, and Leah and her team tried things, adjusted, and tried again. The center became a community. It eventually became a nonprofit, and this year moved from its original mall location into the Harrison Building.
I have also gotten to know Leah through Port Huron Civic Theatre, where I recently joined the board as treasurer. Alongside her work as founder and executive director of The Process, she leads PHCT’s Ability Arts program, which supports participation in theater for individuals with all kinds of strengths and support needs.
Ability Arts has received grant support from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, alongside many other generous community organizations. That support helps create opportunities to participate, express yourself, and connect with others. Meaningful inclusion takes care, planning, and resources, and it is encouraging to see the broader community helping make it possible.
Across these settings, there is a shared thread: creating the conditions for someone to take part, express themselves, and feel that they belong.
Leah describes “Make a mess” as both a literal invitation and a philosophy.
“Give yourself permission to enjoy something without needing to produce something impressive at the end.”
The Process gives that idea a place to live, with room for creativity, discovery, and the relationships that develop when we feel comfortable enough to be ourselves. It is a vision we recognize at Progressive Lifestyles, and one I’m happy to share.
