Bernadette Moran joined The Arc Jacksonvilles board when her daughter was six years old.
Moran is among the parents who advocated for the community Moira and other adults with I/DD now call home.
Bernadette Moran’s daughter, Moira, is in her mid-30s and has I/DD.
Moran and her late husband, Frank, worried about Moiras future without them.
At times, the worry was all-consuming.
The parents of children with disabilities dont have the options other parents have, says Moran.
We worried, What if something happens to us before we find a solution?
Moira really needed and wanted to be free and fly and make her own decisions.
“There wasnt really a model out there.
All Village residents are 18 or older.
(The average age is 30.)
Roughly 80 residents work 10 to 40 hours a week in town.
The Arc assists with job placements and volunteer opportunities.
There are the daytime workers, a live-in night staff and a security patrol.
Each resident has a coach who, Whittaker says, guides them along but doesnt smother them.
If they only need 2 hours a week or 10 of coaching, thats what they get.
Programs are tailored to the individual.
When anyone needs immediate assistance, there is an intercom in every apartment.”
Residents come from throughout the country.
Half receiveMedicaid waiver funding.
The other half are funded privately, usually by families.
All residents receive a weekly wellness check.
The average wait for a vacancy is three to four years.
Most Arcs offer group homes, supported living services, daytime activities and employment services.
No two Arcs are alike and each has its own board of directors.
We are the only one that has a Village-like community, Whittaker explains.
The Arc Jacksonville began in 1965 as an initiative by parents seeking educational options for their I/DD children.
Bernadette Moran joined the board in the mid-1990s, when Moira was six years old.
Moran is among the parents who helped make the Village a reality.
I approached the state and got our legislators behind it.
The process took about four years.
The Arc secured a 99-year lease for 32 acres and built on 17 acres.
They listened and they did it!
The project received $11.5 million in tax credits and $4 million in state grants.
Another $7 million was secured through fundraising.
Word spread about The Arc Jacksonville Village housing model.
The interest in the country is overwhelming and many projects are in development or planning, says Whittaker.
All of the communities have a wait list.
One of the new residences is the Tallahassee basedIndependence Landing.
Whittaker was a consultant on the project.
Similar communities are being planned in many other states, he says.
She is also a member of the Florida House of Representatives.
Thanks to her legislative connections and political savvy, Tants timeline was phenomenally short.
We organized in 2017, got the land in 2018 and got funded in 2020, she says.
Another community for adults with I/DD is being developed in Kendall, located in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County.
It stems from the efforts and shared fears of eight families who have children with I/DD.
We got together frequently," says Debbie Lawrence, the mom of a teenage son with autism.
“We began our research and soon came up with the idea to build a community.
The families founded the nonprofitCasa Familiain 2015.
Lawrence serves as the senior housing director.
The Arcs Jim Whittaker was enlisted as an advisor.
Florida Housing provided $15 million in federal tax credits and a $4 million grant.
Miami-Dade County helped secure a lease for a well-located, 9 acre property.
Phase I will create 50 one- and two-bedroom apartments that, together, will accommodate approximately 60 adults.
There will also be an 11,000-square-foot community center.
The planned 2020 groundbreaking was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ive gone from staring up at the ceiling and wondering, Whats going to happen next?
to staring up at the ceiling andplanning, says Lawrence.
For Moira Rossis parents, the Village is an answer to their prayers.
Our daughter doesn’t have any siblings.
The Village will be there and shell be well cared for over the long term.
The Village affords peace of mind for me and my husband who just turned 80.
I can’t tell you the amount of comfort it provides us.
Amy Lennard Goehner is the parent of an adult son with autism.
He lives in a residential community for people with I/DD.
Learn more by reading"Finding a ‘Forever Home’ for My Adult Son With Autism.”
