Arc of Acadiana cut the ribbon on several newly constructed community group homes in Rayne today.
Arc of Acadiana Residential Services operates 11 community homes throughout Louisiana for individuals with developmental disabilities. The facilities aim to encourage and support residents as they learn to embrace the privileges and responsibilities of community life. ARC clients and their families are guided by experienced, compassionate staff members, who understand the challenges faced by developmentally disabled individuals learning to live independently, officials say.
Mark Thomas, deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, said his agency partnered with ARC to build the group homes so that people with developmental disabilities would have a chance to live and participate in a community.
"We know that when individuals have the opportunities to live in communities like this, their quality of life is greatly improved," he said. "We're exicted for those individuals who wil be a part of this home and similar homes."
Thomas said residents have their own spaces, their own rooms in the homes. Some have jobs, he said.
The home in Rayne is the fourth home built via the ARC-LDH partnership that began several years ago. The aim of the project was to move residents from institutional settings into community settings so that they can experience life and be part of a community.
