A small cluster of recently-constructed buildings just visible from Golden State Boulevard will soon be home to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
AMVA Corporation is responsible for the future residential facility, which will provide services to 15 developmentally disabled adults beginning in the fall. According to AMVA CEO Vartan Hekimian, the center will cater to adults with a wide variety of disabilities, including but not limited to autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and seizure disorder.
“There are a whole host of diagnoses that could impair someone’s development before the age of 18,” Hekimian said. “It’s not an institution – we try to integrate them into opportunities for socialization, vocalization and leisure in the community.”
Plans for the residential facility were approved by Stanislaus County in 2015 and include four separate structures at 2800 Paulson Road in Turlock. Three of the buildings constitute the living environment for the 15 full-time clients and six support staff, while a fourth building will provide the support spaces for programs, activities, a spiritual space and wellness space.
The facility’s neighborhood-like setting is meant to create a welcoming atmosphere for clients, who will come to the center from communities like Modesto, Merced, Ceres and Turlock.
“By making the center a cluster of housing instead of one building, we’re trying to establish as close to a community-type setting as possible,” Hekimian said.
AMVA Corporation already operates one residential facility in Fresno. The organization decided to build next in Turlock due to its proximity to the Valley Mountain Regional Center in Stockton. Under California law, developmentally disabled persons must be near a regional care center, Hekimian said.
Clients staying at AMVA’s new Turlock location will partake in services meant to enhance their quality of life, including town outings like staff-supervised trips to restaurants.
“They get to go experience those things that a normal person would,” Hekimian said. “Just because they’re developmentally disabled it doesn’t mean they need to be put into an institution their entire life.”
The facility is currently finishing up licensing, Hekimian added, and he hopes that patients will call the location home by September.
