The importance of Club Zeus to people in Arizona cannot be overstated. It is the number one place in Tucson for the special needs community to meet each other and build organic relationships.
Founder Crisann Black has a personal stake in Club Zeus as her four-year-old son Zeus Black is on the autism spectrum. She created the club as she experienced first-hand the rejection from other parents and children due to her son's disability. Black is familiar with the constant social worries of raising a kid with special needs.
Black said she had to create a place for her son where he would not have to keep explaining himself to people or constantly apologize for what he was doing. She ultimately decided to make the world a better place for her son Zeus to grow up in however she could. Black hopes to achieve her mission by supporting and spreading education and creating community spaces to fill social gaps.
Black regrets using drugs and becoming a drug dealer
According to Black, she did not have the easiest childhood, as her father went to prison when she was five. That started a rocky path for her, with Black revealing in an interview with The Republic that she was a survivor of sexual assault and abuse. After that, she started using drugs and became a drug dealer.
Black told AzCentral she was able to get through this rough period of her life through meditation, faith, and positive affirmations. That helped her in being a loving mom to her five kids. She said that she is blessed to have gone through it and survived it. She added that if she made it through all that and is now a mom of five, she can do anything.
According to Black, she regrets her choices when she was younger, but her experiences helped educate Crisann to sympathize with others on issues such as drug abuse and homelessness.
Black also founded Uniting Arizona
Black's efforts to change lives expand beyond her role as a mom. She did hands-on care at the beginning of her career through the state-run Division of Developmental Disabilities. She then worked for Tucson's MetroCare Services for a decade after that before eventually becoming the director of the agency.
Black's health soon failed, though, and she did not have an option. She added that she stopped working as she focused on her health. She was able to recalibrate and find what her best use of time and service was.
Black founded the nonprofit Uniting Arizona during this shift in 2020. The organization provides resources to the homeless population in Tucson. She then created Club Zeus two years later to help the special needs community.
