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Providing housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is part of the culture of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference. Many NC churches partner with UMAR, the conference agency that provides housing, training, work, and arts opportunities for over 350 persons. Therefore, when the Huntersville United Methodist Church purchased property for a new church building, they included extra land to donate for the building of what they assumed would be a group home. In line with the realization that people with disabilities mostly prefer independent rather than congregate living, UMAR suggested a supported apartment complex instead. Named for long-time UMAR supporters (and 2003 Pitzer Award recipient) Margaret and Bishop Lawrence McCleskey, the apartments were constructed in 2012.

	Adam shows his accessible apartment kitchen

Each of the nine apartment one-bedroom units is self-contained. Some are fully wheelchair accessible. Most residents hold jobs and participate in community programs. What makes this setting unique is the provision of support based on individual needs. Residents may receive assistance doing grocery shopping, learning how to do laundry, or budgeting. As little as five hours of services a week may ensure success. Outside programs are tapped if an individual needs personal care assistance. The key staff person is on-call via cell phone and can return if a crisis arises. Over time, the need for support has lessened and several residents have moved into fully independent settings.

The complex features a community center with a laundry room, full kitchen, living room, and tables for shared meals or playing games.  Residents gather to watch sports events on the large screen TV. All programming is strictly voluntary, and most socialization occurs naturally as residents visit back and forth in their apartments. Many of the residents walk next door to attend church services at the Huntersville UMC, where they are fully integrated as members, participants, and volunteers with food pantry, maintenance, and other projects.

McClesky Apartments

Building the apartments required partnership with a number of organizations and donors. HUD funding covered most construction costs, which allows rent to be set at an affordable rate for tenants with limited incomes. Rent covers the majority of the expenses, but donations help with extras.

When asked what she would do differently if given another opportunity, UMAR President and CEO Marilyn Garner shared a dream of apartments embedded in a setting that is home to individuals from diverse backgrounds. If there were seniors living nearby, these tenants would be more than happy to help carry groceries and assist with chores. Interaction with veterans or single mothers getting back on their feet could also be mutually beneficial. Marilyn believes that being part of a larger living community would be the next step towards "helping residents be all they can be."

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How does one bring about transformation in seminary students, helping them see that all persons are created in God's image? Perhaps transformation takes place outside the classroom, in authentic relationships. To that end, United Methodist-affiliated Duke Theological Seminary is exploring what it means for students to live in community with young adults who have intellectual disabilities.

The Friendship House model began at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI, and was brought to Duke by its founder Matt Floding. At Duke each of four apartment suites houses three seminary students and one young adult with a disability. The residents remain longer than the students, but the aim is to move into a more independent living situation by the time they are no longer young adults.

Everyone in the program commits to the principles of becoming community by celebrating, eating,and praying together. In practice this means that participants share a Sunday night meal, celebrate milestones, and make time for prayer and theological reflection. Discussing theology takes on a different dimension when seminarians need to explain themselves in ways that allow everyone to join in the conversation. The openness with which the residents share prayer concerns helps the seminary students to be more real and vulnerable in their own prayers.

Students find many benefits from participating. One student who lived in the program from its inception noted that having resident friends helped to keep him grounded in the community, and to see connections between his studies and issues in the surrounding city. He learned that being in community meant making time to just hang out, and to be available for the tough times (someone getting sick in the middle of the night) as well as the fun times. A resident wrote an individualized Haiku poem for the student's birthday - of the best presents he has ever received because it showed how much the roommate understood and cared about him.

The movement is growing. One recent graduate is taking the model to the medical school arena. Vanderbilt has started a Friendship House and is expanding to a second house in partnership with Belmont University. Others are considering adapting the program for undergraduate students. An umbrella association, Friendship House Partners USA, offers on-line information and a handbook to download. Ultimately each program needs to fit its own context and develop its own structure and procedures.

Several of the housing units are owned by non-profit agencies, one by the host seminary, and one by a housing corporation. The model works because it is self-sufficient, offering affordable rents and limiting the use of paid employees. To be accepted into the program, residents must be able to care for personal needs. This is often the first move after leaving their parents' home and they may lack important independent living skills. While the seminary students are not caregivers or supervisors, working things out in community may require teaching social skills and offering feedback when roommates make self-limiting choices. Transformation comes in the messy process of learning what it means to be uniquely gifted individuals working together to form a community.

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