New Home for Gulf ARC/Transportation

For decades, they endured leaky roofs, overflowing toilets and carpets that went "squish, squish" every time it rained.

Today, the clients and staff of the Gulf County Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) and Gulf Transportation have a new, $1.4 million facility, and they could not be more proud of how far they've come.

Speaking at last Friday's ribbon cutting ceremony, ARC director Dianna Harrison, joined by Gulf Transportation director Kathy Balentine, called the new facility a "dream come true."

"We're not sure whether we should cry, jump up and down or pinch each other to determine if it's real," said Harrison.

A large crowd of community members and representatives from USDA Rural Development attended the ceremony, which was book-ended by a facility tour and a free fish fry.

USDA Rural Development provided $700,130 in loan and grant funds for the 4,400 square foot facility, located on six acres of city-donated land at 122 Water Plant Road in Port St. Joe's Industrial Park.

The facility, which features ample parking spaces for Gulf Transportation vehicles, multiple offices, separate lounges for clients and staff and a large conference room, was designed by Paul Donofro and built by Windolf Construction.

That Was Then...

The building represents a giant leap in both organizations' evolution.

ARC was founded in the 1970s by Chester and Maxine Gant to provide services for the community's developmentally disabled residents.

The organization's first office was located in a tiny room on Martin Luther King Blvd.

Gloria Langston, who celebrated 31 years with ARC last Friday, recalled covering her desk, Royal typewriter and calculator in plastic every time it rained.

In 1979, ARC moved to Peters Street, settling into two former George Washington High School classrooms.

A tree grew out of one of the buildings, and the rain came through both buildings' roofs and walls.

There were no desks, only folding tables, and the toilets routinely overflowed.

Langston said she and her fellow employees quickly learned the meaning of a phrase in their employment contracts: "and other duties as required."

While at the Peters Street address, ARC expanded its services to provide transportation services to the county's transportation disadvantaged.

Gulf Transportation began in 1990 with a telephone, notebook, pencil, adding machine, one van and two drivers, and shared office quarters with ARC.

When a violent 2004 hurricane season left the Peters Street facility uninhabitable, ARC and Gulf Transportation relocated to a cramped building at 309 Williams Avenue.

Despite less than ideal working conditions, many of the employees remained with the organizations for over a decade.

At the ceremony, several staff members applauded Harrison and Balentine's perseverance and commitment to serving their clients.

ARC administrative assistant Catherine Minger presented Harrison and Balentine with bouquets of flowers as a token of the staff's affection.

"They give, they give, they give, and they give some more," said Minger.

After hearing the challenges faced by ARC and Gulf Transportation's longtime staff members, USDA Rural Development State Director Ronald Whitfield quipped, "I feel like these ladies deserve a battlefield promotion for all they've went through."

This is Now...

Though ARC and Gulf Transportation have a long history, many residents are unaware of the services both organizations provide.

ARC currently serves 25 developmentally disabled clients over the age of 18.

Several vocational programs allow clients to become functioning members of the community.

Under the supervision of ARC staff, clients work in lawn service, custodial and highway crews and maintain the grounds of area churches, businesses and other organizations, which contract the ARC for services. Clients are paid for their work.

Harrison hopes to expand the Adult Day Training program to include other services such as landscaping, wash and fold laundry, and aluminum recycling.

"We want to provide more services to the clients, and as a result, provide more to the community," said Harrison.

In addition to the ARC's Day Program, the organization also operates the Gulf House, a group home located on Peters Street.

Eight male clients live in the group home, which is managed by Sandy Quinn and four full-time staff members who tend to the clients' personal needs.

ARC staff members provide a variety of services to the 10 clients who live on their own, including help with shopping, bill paying and scheduling doctors' appointments.

Several ARC clients have also accompanied staff members on trips to Biloxi, England and other faraway places.

ARC is funded by Medicaid, and receives additional support from the county and private contributions.

Gulf Transportation

Gulf Transportation provides residents transport to life sustaining doctors' appointments, veteran's hospitals, grocery stores and other locations as far as Tampa and Birmingham, Ala.

Passengers include the elderly, low income, developmentally disabled, physically or mentally impaired, children and non-sponsored individuals of all ages.

The organization employs two full-time drivers and eight part-time drivers, who operate 13 vehicles.

Services are available for those in wheelchairs or stretchers.

The organization receives funding from the Florida Transportation Disadvantaged Trust Fund, county and private contributions.

Passengers on Medicaid pay a small co-pay based on destination. For instance, a round trip ticket to Panama City costs $6.

Those who don't qualify for government assistance can pay out-of-pocket.

Raising Profile

ARC and Gulf Transportation's staff, board members and supporters hope that the new facility will raise the organizations' profile in the community.

In particular, they hope that residents will appreciate the services ARC provides to its very special clients.

Speaking at last Friday's ceremony, Bill Holton, an ARC board member who worked tirelessly to make the facility the best it could be, said he hoped the facility would help "bridge the gap of understanding" that separates the developmentally disabled from the larger population.

Holton, who is the proud father of a developmentally disabled son, urged those in attendance to focus on similarities rather than differences.

"These clients are you and me with autism, with Down's Syndrome, brain damage, chemical imbalance. They're just as real as you and me, except their hearts are way bigger," said Holton.

Applauding ARC's record of helping those with special needs, Holton said Gulf County had much to be proud of.

"There are special needs people in every community in the United States, but in Gulf County, we know how to take care of them."