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Home, Inc. has been providing care to adults with special needs in the region for 50 years

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Home, Inc. has been providing care to adults with special needs in the region for 50 years

MONROE — In 1974, Home, Inc. began serving adults with special needs. On Sunday, the local agency celebrates its 50th anniversary.

A program and meal begin at noon Sunday on the front lawn of Home, Inc.’s Elm House, 852 W. Elm Ave. The public is welcome. Visitors may stay and watch the Monroe County Fair Parade, which begins at 1 p.m.

“There will be a short ceremony to celebrate the 50e birthday around noon. No long speeches, just a few remarks,” said Dick Sager, a former executive director who worked at the agency for 30 years. “Mexican food will be served to all in attendance, and then all attendees are invited to stay and watch the carnival parade. We expect a number of former staff and board members, along with current residents and their families (to be in attendance).”

Home, Inc. is a local nonprofit organization that provides shelter to adults with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and traumatic brain injury.

“Our first residential program was a group home in Temperance called the Lewis Home. Elm House came online in 1978,” Sager said.

Elm House is a licensed adult foster home that can house up to 15 residents. Home, Inc. also has a Community Supported Living Arrangement program that supports individuals living in their own homes.

“We were the first agency in the county to place clients in their own apartments in the community and provide them with support,” Sager said. “Home, Inc. has grown and shrunk over the years. At various times, we also had a sheltered workshop, an adult day program and two small group homes.”

Home, Inc. has been serving customers for over 50 years.

“I don’t have an exact client count because we don’t keep records that long. But I would estimate it was well over 100,” Sager said. “Home, Inc. currently serves two clients with 18 full-time and part-time employees.”

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Funding for Elm House comes from resident payments, HUD Section 8 housing subsidies, Department of Human Services and Bridge Cards for food, Sager said. “Community Supported Living Arrangements are supported by Monroe County Community Mental Health and private payments.”

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The directors of Home, Inc. have been: Rich Mauer, 1974-78; Sager, 1978-2009; Rexine Newhouse, 2008-18; and Sandy Imber, 2018-2024. Kristina Yates was recently promoted to director. Yates is a 2016 graduate of Siena Heights University in Adrian, where she studied psychology. She has served as program manager at Home, Inc. since 2018. Darla Hall is the current assistant director and business manager.

“There are no immediate changes planned, although the agency is always open to new opportunities,” Sager said.

For more information, visit homeincmonroe.org.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at [email protected].

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