ImageImage

ARC opens home for people with intellectual disabilities

Published on April 1, 2024 at 1:44 pm
Find everything you need to make informed decisions this election season, plus so much more.

An advocacy organization for people with intellectual disabilities is opening a new facility in Jacksonville for those with additional mental health issues. 

The ARC Jacksonville opened the new facility, The Lodges, off Hodges Boulevard. It features six individual apartments, each with a kitchenette and bathroom, in addition to a shared living space.

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Residents will receive mental health services and consultations with a psychiatrist. Kari Bates, president of The Arc Jacksonville, says the setup allows residents to live independently while also preventing problems from developing. 

“But then there’s always an outreach type part to it, where we do try to partner with our local law enforcement, community partners, and do two-sided training, of what we know and what they know so that whenever we have an interaction in the community that people can know how to respond appropriately,” Bates said on First Coast Connect.

The Lodge is the first licensed “residential option” in Florida for people with developmental differences with a secondary mental health diagnosis.  

Article continues below

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Go here to hear the entire First Coast Connect interview with Kari Bates, or catch it when it encores at 8 p.m. Monday on WJCT News 89.9.


author image "Morning Edition" Host and Radio Reading Service Manager email Michelle Corum has been the voice of "Morning Edition" on WJCT since 2012. Her career spans public radio in Kansas and Michigan, and her work has been featured on NPR. She oversees WJCT's Radio Reading Service, and has been acknowledged for her newscasts by Florida AP Broadcasters. Corum also brings corporate communication expertise from D.C. and holds a master's from Central Michigan University and a journalism bachelor's from Troy University.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.