Group home for disabled gets floor-to-ceiling renovation

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Denise Pickett circled her bright-blue bedroom, smiling broadly as she opened her closet doors and pointed to the stuffed animals adorning her dresser.

The 60-year-old, developmentally disabled woman moved back into her room last weekend after the entire house, a group home for disabled adults in Columbia, received a floor-to-ceiling renovation.

“There are still a few last-minute things that have to be done,” said Angela Young, program coordinator at The Arc of Howard County, a nonprofit that provides services to people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. The Arc is leasing the home on Cloudburst Hill, where Pickett and two other women live, along with a live-in counselor.

To prepare for today’s rededication ceremony, workers planted shrubs and fixed loose doorknobs Monday afternoon at the nearly 40-year-old rancher.

The Arc aims to allow individuals with disabilities to lead a full life in their communities, said Kari Ebeling, The Arc’s director of resource management.

“You want them to have the same thing everyone else in the community has,” she said.

But maintenance for the organization’s 48 houses isn’t included in the funding it receives for services, Ebeling said, so a major renovation is rare.

Columbia Housing Corp., which manages a nonprofit that owns the house, received a $152,000 grant from the county’s housing department for the project. About 50 volunteers from DreamBuilders, a coalition of religious congregations, also pitched in alongside professional contractors.

Workers made bathtubs accessible for wheelchairs and walkers and removed a closet once blocking the entry to the house, making the living room easier for disabled residents to navigate.

The renovation transformed the garage into a living area for the counselor, complete with a private bathroom. A deck was rebuilt to include a ramp. New siding, paint, carpet and windows completed the overhaul.

About five years ago, Arc officials surveyed the group homes in the county, crafting a wish list of what needs to happen, should there be funding, said Jay Raksin, The Arc’s maintenance coordinator.

“We have never had funding to be able to do a house like this before,” he said.

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

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