This is about Broadway Arms, a supported living facility in Lewistown, IL, where I have lived for the past four years.

By STEVE JOOS

For nearly 30 years, a facility on the north side of Lewistown has been providing disabled adults with a means of more independent living.

Broadway Arms is a residential care facility operated by the Community Workshop and training Center (CWTC) of Peoria.
The facility provides 24-hour supervision for disabled adults, with person-centered planning, case management. health care and skills training.

The two-building facility has been located at 1003 N. Broadway in Lewistown since he 1980s.
There are actually two different types of care offered at Broadway Arms.

There are two buildings at the facility, With one dedicated to residents with more of a need for help with such things as health care and special skills training, while the other is for more independent residents.

Each building has a lobby which is also used for group activities, along with a spacious one-bedroom apartment for each resident.

One building has a Community Living Facility (CLF), which provides 24-hour staff support and community access training, along with person-centered planning and and the coordination of auxiliary services, which are furnished by case managers.

The northern building is a Supported Living Apartment (SLA) facility, which provides individualized support services, case management and person-centered planning in a semi-independent setting.

The CWTC works with several agencies, including the Department of Human Services (the facility is roughly a half-mile from the DHS' Lewistown office) and the Health Department, as well as local physicians and social services. some of the residents also make monthly trips to the local food banks at the Lewistown United Methodist Church and Papa's Closet.

Whenever a resident goes on any kind of shopping trip or medical office visit, Murphy transports them and returns them to the residence.

In order to live in a facility like Broadway Arms, prospective residents must be at least 18, with a documented disability and be eligible for Medicaid or alternative funding.

The facilities are also open to those who limited in mobility, or the capacity for independent living and should be able to take care of themselves in an emergency (there are regular resident meetings where emergency procedures are covered), and be accepted into a school, day program, vocational program or community employment.
Applicants are subject to a criminal background check and not be in need of skilled nursing care, prenatal care or specialized care.

CLF residents must have a developmental disability and have the approval of the Illinois Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities for Medicaid benefits or other alternative funding. To reside in an SLA, ne must also meet Housing and Urban Development guidelines and meet the approval of the CWTC's Residential Intake Committee.

The ability to access community resources and a commitment not maximize independent living skills are also required.

Rents are based on HUD guidelines and may not exceed one-third of the resident's total income.

Most of the residents of Broadway Arms come from Fulton County, but the clientele may hail from throughout Central Illinois.

While there are not many organized group recreational activities at Broadway Arms, the residents do organize some of their own group activities and the CLF sponsors a fall party for each of the facilities at the Lewistown City Park building (which is next door to Broadway Arms).

Residents of the SLA are considerably more independent, but they do have an on-site resident manager.

They are around to provide a way for the disables a means of independent living, tucked away on the north side of Lewistown.