Arc provides place to learn skills, find friendship

The former Prince of Peace Parish rectory in Chalmette is flourishing with activity again now that the Arc of Greater New Orleans opened its Chalmette Community Center to clients on Sept. 19. The 4,000-square-foot building had been undergoing renovations since February.

A few days after opening, adults with intellectual disabilities were busy preparing beads for a plaque they would make for a local shopping center, deciding what food to buy for cooking class, washing and cutting carrots in the kitchen, playing cards and volunteering throughout New Orleans. Some were old acquaintances who had been accessing services at the Arc Wolfe Center Uptown since Hurricane Katrina, and others were new.

“I think people are excited,” Cliff Doescher, Arc executive director, said about being back in St. Bernard. “People were happy to see others they hadn’t seen in quite a long time.”

Approximately 23 adults from St. Bernard, New Orleans East and the 9th Ward, ranging in age from 18 to 68, are using the center.

“So far, everyone seems to love it,” Kristi Andre, Arc program director, said. “There was nothing out here for our clients. This gives them something to do – an opportunity to get out in the community.”

Return client Louis Costella, 68, from Chalmette, was working on a Seek-A-Word workbook while waiting to shop for food. A big New Orleans Saints fan, he enjoys socializing and keeping everybody up to date on his home team.

“It’s new,” he said about the center. “I like to go walking.”

Arc space filled with activities

The new site – with two large rooms (an activity room and the Vintage Garden Farm staff room), a kitchen, utility room, staff offices and bathrooms – consolidates Arc’s services offered at three St. Bernard sites prior to Katrina.

Activities vary daily with  health and fitness options such as walking, bicycling, swimming, bowling, kick ball, soccer and basketball; a work program that pays minimum wage to sort beads that are sold to the community; and off-site volunteering at nonprofits such as St. Jude Community Center and at the SPCA.

“We’re very aware of the health and fitness needs of our people,” Doescher said. “Things will be happening inside, but our intent is to address health and fitness or contribute something to the community.”

The staff and clients have begun to farm 2.4 acres of the site. This farm will complement two smaller, chemical-free urban farms Arc has Uptown at 5700 Loyola Avenue and at 925 South Labarre Road in Metairie. The crops are used in soup sold by the Vintage Garden Kitchen and sold to local chefs and farmers’ markets.

“My biggest goal is that they get more integrated in the community,” Andre said. “For a lot of them, it’s to make sure they are a little more independent. At Arc, we let them choose their activities … and make suggestions that we might add to the schedule.”

No-cost lease arrangement

The plan to reopen the campus was finalized Dec. 20, 2010, when Arc signed a 20-year, no-cost lease agreement with the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Arc is responsible for all maintenance, utilities and insurance on the property.

With the rectory complete, Arc plans to begin Phase II to transform the former 12,000-square-foot Sterling Parish Hall into a multi-use facility beginning with upgrading the plumbing and electric work. Areas in the parking lot are being prepared to plant fruit trees, and a wetlands project and learning center is planned. Arc also will install an overhead door on one side of the building to accommodate farm equipment.

“We want it to be a community site where people can learn about water management and sustainable farming,” Andre said.

Volunteer Polly Campbell whose son Alex, 14, has Down syndrome, maneuvered to get the project going. She is relieved to know that Alex will have a place to go after high school.

 “It’s a great step in the direction that St. Bernard has needed for many years,” she said. “The programming has developed so much more community-based than it ever was. It now promotes employment, volunteerism, leisure and recreation activities, all within the community where people live. It’s become a visible part of the community where these adults are seen as valuable assets. They are people who have so much to offer our community.”

Arc currently serves 1,000 clients in the New Orleans area.

“The (St. Bernard) community has embraced us,” Doescher said.  “We hope we can reciprocate and, as time goes on, make something that everyone can be proud of.”

            Christine Bordelon can be reached at [email protected].