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The Arc, a 50-year-old nonprofit in the community, has started a new business venture.

With a Kathleen and Joseph M. Bryan Community Enrichment and Venture Grant, bARC, as this new venture is called, employs young adults with developmental disabilities to make and market dog biscuit treats.

“After high school, young adults with disabilities have few choices in our community,” said Ruth Edwards, executive director of Arc. “We have started this doggie treat business so young adults can come and learn some new skills in the making and marketing of this product. On Tuesday they bake the treats using pet-friendly ingredients; on Wednesday they assemble the items into small and large bags; and on Thursday we market the products. We are just beginning this new enterprise, and we are really excited about what this will mean for our young adults.”

The Arc of Greensboro was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1961 and is affiliated with a nationwide network of similar entities that promote and advocate for opportunities that empower people with developmental disabilities to have choices as they live their lives in the community.

Three main areas of work for The Arc include advocacy, supported employment and case management:

• Advocacy: The Arc is a national movement that believes advocacy is “vital in improving and sustaining quality of life” for people with intellectual disabilities at both the individual and larger community level.
• Supported Employment: North Carolina’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Guilford Center contract with The Arc to assist disabled adults in securing and maintaining competitive jobs that pay at least minimum wage. Each year, The Arc helps more than 100 adults with disabilities obtain gainful employment in Greensboro by working in partnership with local businesses.
• Case Management: Case management has developed into a major function for The Arc of Greensboro, especially since state and local government transferred this responsibility to private, community-based nonprofit organizations. The Arc’s team of credentialed case managers and community resource specialists provided more than 6,000 hours of case management during 2010.

Assessing the client’s needs; developing a person-centered care plan with the client and, in most cases, the client’s family; negotiating the client’s access to needed services and supports; and monitoring progress in the care plan.

Eric Chaves, a member of The Arc since 2006, describes his story in this way:

“I was raised by my grandmother. When I was in my late 20s, I decided that I wanted to move out of my grandmother’s home. My family did not want me to move out. This conflict caused me a lot of heartache and stress. I felt like I could have a better life, gain independence and would be able to do more things if I could move out and live in a group home in the community. I wanted to have the freedom to choose where and with whom I lived and to be able to make important decisions regarding my own life. I knew I had a long road ahead of me, but by age 30, I moved into a UCP group home.”

By using the principles he learned in The Arc’s Self-Advocacy program, Chaves achieved many of his goals and dreams. And now he helps others. “I try to educate others about what people with disabilities can contribute to the community,” Chaves said. “I try to set an example. Many 'typical’ people are not aware of what we can do and solely focus on our disability. They need to focus on our abilities, not our disabilities. We all face struggles, but we must always work toward fighting for our rights and our place in the community.”

Edwards said this new business venture has many objectives. First, it provides a place for young adults to learn some new skills; second, it provides an opportunity for young people with disabilities to interact with the public and to “celebrate and educate sameness”; third, this program provides a venue for the development of leadership skills as the participants are engaged in the decisions of the business, and eventually this will be an opportunity to engage the participants with an elder program that shares the same building.

Ruth D. Anderson is executive director of The Servant Leadership School of Greensboro and chairwoman of programming for the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium.