New facility opens in Fairfield Twp. to help adults with developmental disabilities
Mar. 7—Empowered Community Services is just a few weeks old in Fairfield Twp., but it's already filling an ever-present need by giving adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities more options.
The agency supports adults with disabilities and their families by providing "meaningful day services," said Joe Kowalski, CEO of Empowered Community Services. He said adults may be working part-time, or not be working at all, and are "looking for a great, meaningful way to spend their day, to build skills, develop relationships and volunteer in their community."
Empowered opened a 7,000-plus-square-foot facility a few weeks ago at 7800 Gateway Avenue in Fairfield Twp. and has nearly 30 people enrolled. At full capacity, it can support up to 70 people at some level, serving around 50 a day, Kowalski said.
But not all would be served at the facility.
"We're very active in the community," he said. "There's a little bit of a COVID asterisk on all of this right now, but if we are able to fully access our community like we once were, it is not uncommon to have 60, 70, 80 percent of the people we support in the community at one time, not in the center."
Butler County Developmental Disabilities Superintendent Lisa Guliano said there's always room for more providers for adult day services.
"The population that we serve, the adult population, is always looking for choices and options across the county for adult day services," she said. "In Butler County, we are fortunate because we do have a number of provider agencies and some options and choices for people."
The county is nearly 470 square miles and is the seventh-largest county by population (estimated at 383,134) in Ohio. Because of the county's geographic and population size, Guliano said, "People are looking for options that are close to their homes."
Kowalski says Empowered is really "people-centered," and doesn't plan out a person's day. Most of the time, it's up to them to decide if they want to take a cooking or fitness class at the center, or spend all day volunteering out in the community, he said.
There are also other services provided by Empowered, such as partnering with families to help keep loved ones at home. The center provides transportation to and from, and throughout the community, and offers employment support.
Guliano said while options for those adults they serve are always needed, employment support ― such as for job coaching and training ― is another big need in the community.
"That's an area where we have some providers that are very good at what they do but we always welcome the opportunity for more of those types of providers," she said.
Eventually, Empowered's Fairfield Twp. location, it's third to open, will employ as many as 15, including a nurse, two managers and 10 direct care staff members.
They have locations in Englewood and Springboro, and have a facility under construction in Beavercreek. They plan to have two additional locations within the Interstate 275 beltway.
