Everyone loves a visit from Santa Clause. The only bad part about Santa is that he's only on duty once a year. However, a man named Michael Shanahan dresses up like Santa multiple times during the holiday season and supplies gifts to children in his home time. In suburban Oak Park, a few days before Christmas Shanahan propels down from a helicopter, and screams an authentic "Ho, Ho, Ho," and greets hundreds of children from the area. Shanahan, a taller more muscular Santa but with equally rosy cheeks, arrives at various family events and holiday functions. Even though his own children are now grown, he continues to bring his cheery self to the PACTT (Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow) group home.
The Oak Park group home is home to six special young men, one being Shanahan’s own son. When Marty was two years old, he was diagnosed with autism. He has been living in the home since he was 17 years old. And even though he is soon to be 21 years old, he is just as excited to see his father in the white snow-frosted beard. This blonde haired, well groomed young man lights up the room with his enormous ear to ear smile as his dad approaches the PACTT home. Marty appears to be a clone to his father, built like a football player with broad shoulders and a muscular physique.
This physique was the central reason that Marty starting living at the group home. His large stature of 250 lbs is double the weight of his mother. This significant difference made his mother’s job physically demanding and became a vital concern.
While the group home is located only a few blocks from their home, the decision to move Marty weighed heavily on the whole family. Shanahan’s eldest daughter, Claire, was in shock as she and her younger sister could not imagine being able to adjust to not seeing Marty every day. Claire said she was “entirely unfamiliar with what group homes were about” but warmed up to the idea once their parents educated them on the benefits of Marty living in a group home. She said, “To cope we saw Marty on a regular basis as a family” and felt comforted by the fact that Marty now had someone his age to hang out with at the group home.
