At ARC we’re committed to creating a productive atmosphere for developmentally disabled adults in the Greater New York Area to grow their independence. While we have programs devoted to building functional development skills, such as our Pre-Vocational Services, we interweave development opportunities within all of our programming. This blog is going to focus on three training activities offered at Day Habilitation, our most popular program, and tie them to ARC’s mission of Affirm, Respect, Connect.

AFFIRM: DayHab Without Walls

We build in voluntary opportunities for our Individuals to train them in social skills and functional development skills by going out into the community every week. ARC partners with a number of local businesses that allow participants to visit twice a week. We open boxes, restock shelves and assist customers. Due to the high level of interest, we can visit up to 6 sites per day using our ARC vans for transportation; making these trips completely hassle-free for families. Why do we do this? Interacting with the community is a way our Individuals can AFFIRM themselves in their independence.

RESPECT: Café Friday

Café Friday is a new program we’ve started. The idea behind Café Friday is to help Individuals learn money management. ARC Staff stocks our makeshift store with breakfast items everyone can enjoy and assigns budget-friendly prices. Volunteer program attendees manage the register while the remaining Individuals and staff collect and purchase their breakfast. The money made is used to buy supplies for the following Café Friday when new volunteers will manage the register. This activity brings together ARC staff and attendees, to socialize and build RESPECT with each other.

CONNECT: Giving Back

Our Individuals love giving back to the community. Every Friday we partner with local soup kitchens to prepare and distribute food to the homeless. We CONNECT to society by sharing our time with people and building community awareness of the ARC program.

The bottom line: we want to give Individuals a way to write their own narrative and tell their own story. Twice a year DayHab staff sits down with our program adults and their families to determine their goals and build an actionable plan of achievement. ARC believes the best way to develop a strong sense of self comes with encouraging Individuals to choose where they want to go and what they want to do during their time with us.

To learn more about ARC and our life skills training, please give us a call at 718-531-7500.