Group home in Ashland will serve disabled Hanover residents

There are many Hanover County residents who have intellectual and physical disabilities who could benefit from a residential group-home environment, according to the Hanover Community Services Board.

Next summer, five of them will get the opportunity to live in such a place.

Heart Havens Inc., a Goochland County-based nonprofit organization, is collaborating with Hanover county officials, the Community Services Board and another nonprofit, Hanover Community Support Services, to build the organization's 12th group home.

The house will be on Snead Street in Ashland on a nearly 1.5-acre site that was donated to Heart Havens by the county. It will house as many as five disabled residents and a caretaker, and will be wheelchair-accessible. Construction is scheduled to start by the end of the year, and the home will open next summer.

Since 2004, the organization has raised about $230,000 through fundraising and grants to build the home, said Heart Havens Board member Bob Tate. Plans are in place to raise money for the home's furnishings and a full-size wheelchair-accessible van.

Heart Havens Executive Director Jennifer Boyden-Barrett said the goal of the homes is to support people with disabilities as they gain skills toward independence, though she noted that many of the residents who live in Heart Havens' homes are unable to take care of themselves independently. The homes provide a place for them to receive around-the-clock care.

She said her staff is working with the county's community services board to identify the residents who will live in the Ashland home.

The residents' housing fees vary by individual and are based on their income, Social Security benefits and other resources.

Heart Havens' other homes are spread across Virginia, including one in Goochland, Richmond and soon, eastern Henrico County.

Ron Lucas, director of community support services for the county Community Service Board, said the Ashland home would be an asset to the community particularly because it's being built to accommodate the physical handicaps of its residents. His organization works with about 250 people who have intellectual and physical disabilities.

"A home like this is critical for them," he said.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or .