Favarh: Tracing Arc of IDD Story Special to Today Magazine
FAVARH The Arc of the Farmington Valley —————————————————————————— 225 Commerce Drive • Canton 860-693-6662 Email — favarh@favarh.org Website — www.favarh.org Social Media • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Twitter
Executive director Stephen E. Morris has answered this Q&A ————————————————————— Year established — 1958 Mission — To help each person achieve their personal best. Most fulfilling aspect of your work? The number one concern that I hear from families is “What is going to happen to our child after we’re gone”? By creating opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live, work, and lead healthy and active lives in the community, we not only help the adults with IDD, we help their families have assurance that their loved one will be happy, safe and looked after, even after they are gone. Your biggest obstacle, and how you overcome it? The waiting list for residential supports has always been long, available only
after parents are too frail or medically compromised to take care of their adult child with IDD. But group homes are expensive and apartment living can be isolating. Finding an alternative was a big challenge. We met a developer who was willing to work with us to design an integrated apartment building where 25% of the apartments would be set aside and specially designed for adults with IDD. The other apartments would be available to others who qualified for the income limits associated with these affordable apartments.
SKILLED NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTERS
VALLEY INTEL NOTEWORTHY NONPROFITS We presented the idea of what we now call Supported Housing to the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) in 2015. In 2016, the DDS and the Department of Housing announced a grant program that would allow us and others to demonstrate that this model could work. In 2021 our first Supportive Housing complex opened in Canton. In 2022, the second one opened in Bloomfield. Today, there are more than a dozen additional projects in development or that have been recently completed by other IDD providers, and a third program for Favarh is planned for Farmington in 2025. The Supportive Housing model works because it is much more cost-effective for the state compared to group homes. This means more people on the residential waiting list can be supported and at a much younger age.
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Patient-Centered Care ALWAYS OUR TOP PRIORITY
For over 45 years, we’ve provided a safe and caring environment for residents to maintain an optimal quality of life! D Short-term rehabilitation D Long-term care D Post-acute & transitional care D Respite care
D Alzheimer’s & dementia care D Hospice and palliative care D Physician & nursing services D Therapeutic recreation
652 West Avon Road, Avon 860-673-2521
130 Loomis Drive, West Hartford 860-521-8700
avonhealthcenter.com
westhartfordhealth.com
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NOVEMBER 2023 – www.TodayPublishing.net – TODAY MAGAZINE
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