St. Louis Arc in the City
Delmar DivINe, a new, innovative collaborative space in the city’s West End neighborhood, is now the home to several of the St. Louis Arc’s established programs. The new location also offers new opportunities as the Arc continues to offer supports to city residents with disabilities.
The St. Louis Arc has been providing high-quality supports to people with disabilities in St. Louis since 1950. Today, the Arc serves more than 4,000 individuals with disabilities and their families throughout the greater St. Louis area. Delmar DivINe will be a hub for programs that provide teens, young adults, and older adults with disabilities support to engage in their community, build new skills, and set and achieve goals.
Current Opportunities in the City
Programs offering opportunities in the city include Capable Kids and Families, Community Engagement, Launch, Neighborhood Experiences, NextEd, and Parents Learning Together. Currently, the Arc’s city programs are eagerly registering participants for spring and summer.
Program: Capable Kids and Families (CKF)
Ages: Families with children ages 0-6
Cost: Free through grant funding
Location: In-home
Details: Capable Kids and Families is a program designed to promote early intervention by providing children, ages birth to six, and families with developmentally appropriate toys and therapeutic equipment free-of-charge. Additionally, the program connects families to community resources that meet their needs, and facilitates network building and supportive friendships among parents.
Contact: Julia Schaffner, Program Coordinator, at 314-817-2247.
Program: Community Engagement at Delmar DivINe
Ages: 19+
Cost: Funding is most often secured through the Department of Mental Health / St. Louis Regional Center’s Medicaid Waiver and POS accounts. Private Pay is also an option.
Location: Delmar DivINe
Details: Community Engagement provides daily support to adults as they work toward their goals in the community. Participants develop action plans, so they can make daily choices about the activities and interests they want to pursue. Daily engagement includes a wide variety of volunteer opportunities, recreational, and educational activities throughout the St. Louis area. Support ratios are typically between 1:4 and 1:1.
Contact: Megan Favazza, Director of Community Engagement Services at 314-817-2219.
Program: Launch
Ages: 16-25
Cost: Free to qualifying St. Louis City residents
Location: Virtually and Delmar DivINe
Details: Launch is a program for young adults who are interested in taking the next step toward their future. Participants attend five one-on-one coaching sessions and five group classes each month to identify and work toward their personal goals. The Launch program is a great opportunity to enhance skills to achieve goals in the areas of relationship development, education, employment, and independent living.
Contact: JR Johnson, Coordinator of Transition Services at 314-495-1443.
Program: Neighborhood Experiences in the City
Ages: 13-20
Cost: $300, scholarships available
Dates: June 13 – August 5, 2022
Location: Determined by the individual’s volunteer and work interests
Details: Neighborhood Experiences in the City is a summer youth employment project that serves St. Louis City residents who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is an eight-week project that supports young people as they gain employment skills, form new friendships, and explore opportunities in the community. This project is an opportunity for participants to volunteer in the community, learn new skills, and create a professional portfolio and resume.
Contact: Clinton Hall, Coordinator of Leisure Services 314-817-2293.
Program: NextEd
Ages: 18-25
Cost: Free to qualifying St. Louis City residents
Dates: Session 3 runs April 11 – June 23
Location: Local Air BnB near Forest Park, and Virtually
Details: NextEd is a class-based program for young adults who are ready to take the next step toward living independently. This innovative program utilizes personalized goals, flexible supports, resource development, hands-on learning, video modeling, and virtual reality to work toward self-directed living. Through skill-building experiences, emerging adults will explore how to best use the relationships, connections, and resources in their lives to be successful in a more independent setting.
Contact: Ryann Cleland, Manager of Transition Services at 817-797-5949.
Program: Parents Learning Together (PLT)
Cost: Funding is most often secured through Developmental Disabilities Resources
Location: Delmar DivINe
Details: Parents Learning Together (PLT) is a year-round program that helps parents who have documented intellectual or developmental disabilities to safely and successfully raise their children while supporting their child’s health, education and development. PLT helps parents create a healthy family environment and foster positive emotional, cognitive, and physical development in their children.Weekly opportunities are provided for both center-based instruction and home-based mentoring and support to each family. PLT connects parents with peers and a variety of helpful community-based resources, including case management services, job placement services, public assistance, education, and assistance securing medical care, food and housing support.
Contact: Cathy Hayes, Coordinator of Parents Learning Together, at 314-454-1377.