The Arc celebrates 70 years of serving

The Arc Caddo-Bossier celebrated its 70th anniversary in June, marking a legacy of building opportunities for people with disabilities.

Over the decades, The Arc has created a network of volunteers, employees and services to educate the entire community to become what Executive Director Kristen Powers called “architects of inclusion.”

The Arc provides home and community-based services and has established community residential homes, two campuses of the Goodman School, an equine program, employment services and a day program.

“I love what I do, I love the people that I work with, I love the people that we serve,” Powers said. “We serve the entire north Louisiana area Region 7. We have an awesome employee population of people. This is a calling for them, too.”

Powers said she is proud of the Arc’s work at the state and national levels to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. “So many things we have done in the past have become mainstreamed.”

By way of explanation, she said, in the past, videos of disabled people getting their first paycheck at work would go viral on social media.

“Our goal is for that not to be news.

To just be normal. We’re making those things happen so it’s inclusive and it’s not unique anymore.”

Powers said anyone can choose the Arc as a service provider if they qualify for care through the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities for Louisiana. Powers said, “We want to be the provider of choice.”

The school’s choice comes through word of mouth. It currently has a waiting list of parents. The GREAT Program, the equine-assisted services program in Greenwood, also receives some referrals through word of mouth, but it also has contracts with the school systems.

“We have a wonderful group of leaders and directors who run each of those programs. We have people who are very dedicated to our mission: building unlimited opportunities for people with disability.

We do that by helping them live in their own homes, providing work opportunities through Frost Industries, and giving them the opportunity to ride horses to enjoy the physical and psychosocial benefits.”

The Arc set a precedent with the first residential home of its kind in Louisiana and now provides services for up to 56 men and women with disabilities with eight community homes throughout Northwest Louisiana.

It also provides supported independent living and respite care services to area families based on each person’s needs to “maximize their abilities and to promote balance and wellness in their lives.”

The Conly Day Program currently serves 125 participants daily and is licensed by the state of Louisiana to provide activities and skills training for adults with disabilities.

A crowning jewel of the Arc’s work is the Goldman School and Childhood Development Center, which expanded to a second location in December 2023. The center provides child care and early education/intervention for children with and without disabilities, allowing them to learn and grow alongside one another in an inclusive environment.

“We serve children 0-5 years old,” Powers explained. “In the school, we call it peer modeling.

So, the children without disabilities are in the same classroom with children with disabilities.”

According to Powers, the Goldman School is the only child development center of its kind that managed to remain open following budget cuts, thanks in part to the generous support of the community.

The Arc Caddo-Bossler’s Employment Services and Frost Industries provide full-time and part-time work and job training for over 100 men and women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

In general, environments where individuals with disabilities interact with people without disabilities are more positive environments, Powers explained. In a work environment, employees have higher morale. “There is a teamwork that a person with a disability and a non-disability person that is formed organically, she said, and that teamwork complements each of the participants.”

That cooperation comes from a phenomenon that Powers said they have observed over the years working with clients. “Often, we find that the people that we serve have fewer bad days. They’re very positive and happy to be at work. So that just rubs off on those struggling with normal life and everyday challenges.

“Now you’re going to work every day with this positive, happy person. You can’t have a bad day around them. You can hardly have a bad day when you work around people who don’t.”

You can find more information about The Arc Caddo-Bossier at its website, thearccaddobossier.org or by calling (318) 221-8392.