Advocates for Community Choice (ACC) announced that they are moving forward with plans to build an “Intentional Community” in Warren County where people with developmental disabilities live …
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Advocate group hopes to buy Emmaus campus
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Advocates for Community Choice (ACC) announced that they are moving forward with plans to build an “Intentional Community” in Warren County where people with developmental disabilities live alongside people without disabilities.Ideally, the group, formerly known as Advocates for Emmaus, hopes to purchase the historic Emmaus Homes campus in Marthasville to continue and revitalize the 120-year tradition of providing a faith-based home for developmentally disabled persons at that site.In May, the Emmaus Board of Directors voted to close the Marthasville campus and relocate residents by 2020.ACC is in the process of securing funding for the purchase and will begin a capital campaign soon. It plans to make an offer to Emmaus Homes Inc. in the near future.The integrated community will be known as “Bethel Community” and will provide housing options for the developmentally disabled and the nondisabled, including families, retired clergy and other interested persons who share the group’s goal of creating a close-knit, faith-based, integrated and active community.ACC said the purpose of Bethel Community is to provide an additional housing choice for persons with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD).The group said it has been widely misunderstood that campus-style or farmstead settings are no longer allowed under new federal guidelines for funding support services, and that all I/DD persons must move into homes in urban/suburban settings in order to continue to receive federal funding. That is not true, members said.The final rule, as issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not evaluate specific settings based on physical characteristics such as geography or size. Instead, settings are evaluated to the extent that they promote “choice, dignity and integration.”This is more than possible in an intentional community, the group stated. Additionally, ACC is working closely with the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) where the idea of an intentional community has been enthusiastically received.DMH is providing assistance to ACC to ensure compliance with federal guidelines so that this additional housing choice will be available to people who desire it.Growing trendIntentional communities are a growing trend nationwide. Throughout the U.S., families, guardians and care providers are working together to provide stability, safety and the richness of life that such settings offer, the ACC said.In an intentional community, residents have the best of both worlds — integration in the greater community via access to shopping, recreation, etc. in surrounding cities/towns, plus their own supportive, stable, integrated neighborhood community, the group explained.ACC said Bethel Community will be a neighborhood of people who make the choice to live in a campus setting where there are shared activities of work, worship and play. Mutual assistance will be promoted as an integral part of daily life, and residents will form a network of natural supports and friendships.Residents will have the safety and security of an established neighborhood, and the option to age in place without leaving their friends and natural supports behind.ACC will serve as the property management association of Bethel Community, providing maintenance of campus grounds and facilities. ACC will not be the provider of care services.ACC anticipates that there will be several agencies providing care services in the community, and several provider agencies have expressed interest. I/DD individuals living at Bethel Community will be free to choose a provider of their choice.Nonprofit groupAdvocates for Community Choice was organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and has assembled a team of professionals, including attorneys, real estate developers, historic preservationists, accountants, development professionals and others to assist in developing and implementing its plan.If ACC is successful in purchasing the Marthasville Emmaus campus, the group intends to rehab and repurpose the buildings, preserving this historically significant site and continuing the mission that the local community and church congregations have generously supported for generations.If ACC is not successful in purchasing the campus, it will pursue an alternative plan at a different location in Warren County.“We have been working diligently on this path for the past several months,” said Lynne Unnerstall, ACC president.“We are serious, determined and committed to providing the additional choice of a planned, intentional community in the Warren County area, as soon as possible,” she said. “However, we cannot do it alone. We need the community’s support and will be launching a capital campaign in the coming weeks.”Learn moreAnyone interested in learning more about ACC or Bethel Community, including families/guardians interested in considering an intentional community in Warren County as a possible housing choice for I/DD individuals, is encouraged to visit www.TheRoadtoBethel.com.Anyone who would like to make a tax-deductible donation to support Bethel Community, should make checks payable to Advocates for Community Choice and mail to P.O. Box 183, Washington, MO 63090.For more information, people may contact Unnerstall at lynne@theroadtobethel.com.
