Community for those with disabilities on horizon
St. Andrew's Village in the Clarion Herald.
Christine Bordelon
11/22/2008
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Most parents worry that their children will be happy, independent and find purpose in their lives. Parents of children with developmental disabilities have additional worries: How will their children function in society during adulthood and what will happen to their children when they die?
St. Andrew's Village, to be built in Abita Springs, will address these concerns by providing a mixed-use community with supportive services, recreational and work opportunities for adults with disabilities. It will be the first such faith-based community of its kind in Louisiana.
"We will be there to provide support for the aging aspect of people with disabilities," said Donna Breaux, who was hired in October as executive director. "It (St. Andrew's Village) will provide choice for adults with disabilities to reach their potential," Breaux said. "(We will be) building a community not only where persons with disabilities could live, work and socialize, but also the (surrounding) community could be a part of."
The village design was modeled from the best practices of similar communities nationwide, including the Catholic-based Misericordia in Chicago, and others in Texas and Alabama, Breaux said. It will be self-sustaining with a retail component that could offer employment to villagers. It will have community recreational enterprises such as a horticultural center where villagers could grow and sell plants, and an art center where villagers can make and sell arts and crafts in a community gift shop.
Breaux projects that at least 50 persons with disabilities not living on site will participate in recreational activities during the first year of operation. The village also hopes to serve as a training ground for students at Southeastern Louisiana University and Delgado Community College.
Idea planted 15 years ago
The idea for this long-term residential community for adults with disabilities was first tossed around about 15 years ago when parents of children with disabilities approached former Archbishop Philip Hannan with their vision. "He happened to be thinking
about the same idea," possibly using property on the north shore, said Judge Jay Zainey, a parent who had proposed the community with his autistic son, now 20, in mind. "Archbishop Hannan called it St. Andrew's Village. It was not named after my son, but we said we'd love that because he is named Andrew."
Zainey said he and his wife Joy wanted to ensure that Andrew had a full life and met his potential as their other two children had. "What is important to us is that our son has a quality of life that he is used to and is living in a safe and loving community environment," Zainey said. "That will give us a sense of peace. When you have a special needs child who cannot take care of himself, St. Andrew's Village is a dream come true. "
While the idea didn't come to fruition from the meeting with Archbishop Hannan, Zainey and other supporters didn't give up. They resurrected it a few years ago, established a loosely formed board of supporters and began to devise a plan. Breaux sat on that board for five years. Zainey is now board president. "We knew it was very important for us to pursue this, so we met with Peter Quirk (Catholic Foundation executive director) and told him what our vision was," Zainey said.
The group's first action was forming the "God's Special Children" Mass in 2004 at St. Joseph Church in New Orleans. The need and interest in the community grew to more than 450 at Mass attendance, Zainey said. It caught Archbishop Alfred Hughes' attention, and he met with the organizers - along with other Catholic Charities' representatives such as Breaux, then director of Pro-Life Services, and Jim Kelly, co-president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities - to assure that children with special needs were
receiving the sacraments.
Special needs advocate Breaux has advocated for the rights of individuals with disabilities for 17 years, spurred by her daughter Kayla, who had a mitochondrial disorder and died last year due to complications from leukemia. But even as chairperson of the Governor's Advisory Council on Disability Affairs and vice chair of the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council, Breaux didn't think a community for adults with disabilities would be a reality during her lifetime, until now.
St. Andrew's Village has incorporated and recently acquired 100 acres in Abita Spring in August, in part due to a generous donation by the Edward Poitevent family and the Weyerhauser Corporation. The nonprofit has a business plan that proves selfsustainability,
an architectural rendering by Holly and Smith Architects of Hammond and active supporters.
"We have been very deliberate in everything we have done," Zainey said. "We thought there was no need to incorporate until we got everything off the ground." Breaux thinks the timing for St. Andrew's is right. The number of adults with disabilities is increasing as the service system for people with disabilities evolves. Independent living and at-home services will become alternatives to institutions and group homes. "It allows for that choice that was missing in congregate life," Breaux said. "It's a way for people to maintain independence but at the same time have support."
Break ground in 2009
The first phase of six residences (each with 2,500 square feet to accommodate three villagers and a caregiver), administrative offices and recreational and health services buildings is slated to break ground in 2009, with villagers the following year. A chapel will be the focal point of the faith-based community's town square, Zainey said, and the board is working on getting Catholic nuns to staff it.
Down the road, St. Andrew's Village hopes to build an amphitheatre adjacent to the Abita Recreational District facilities now under construction, a farmer's market and to develop walking paths to further connect the village with the town of Abita. "We call it God's will," Zainey said. "We know it will happen. We are dedicated to making it work. It's for our children and God's children."