{"id":1748,"date":"2021-08-23T16:45:43","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T20:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/?p=1748"},"modified":"2021-08-25T10:21:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T14:21:47","slug":"inclusivity-is-the-main-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/inclusivity-is-the-main-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusivity is the Main Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Inclusivity
Photo by David Stuck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Eli Lewis comes home to the Rockville apartment he moved into a year ago, he passes the cylindrical-shaped Soulfull cafe connected to the building by a skywalk. Inside, mosaics and artwork by residents line the lobby walls. Next to the elevator, a colorful sign reads \u201cMain Street. Inclusivity Redefined.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Lewis, who has Down syndrome, and his mother Mary Ann Dawdeit, that phrase encapsulates the spirit of Main Street<\/a>, a 70-unit apartment building and community center that opened last August. One-quarter of the units are designated for people with varying special needs. Three-quarters of them are \u201caffordable,\u201d with a range of rents for households earning 30-60% of Montgomery County\u2019s median income.<\/p>\n

Lewis, 30, says having friends in the building, a washer and dryer in his apartment and a gym on-site are major plusses to living at Main Street. He had lived on his own for a few years in a traditional apartment community and now enjoys living in a community of people both with and without disabilities. His mother says that\u2019s what makes Main Street different.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll folks with disabilities deserve a place where they feel at home and included. The other apartment facilities were not cognizant of what that means,\u201d says Dawdeit,<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly what Jillian Copeland hoped for when she first envisioned opening Main Street four years ago. Grappling with how her son Nicolas, then 18, who has developmental disabilities and seizures, might be able to live independently, she talked to dozens of families with young adult children who have disabilities about options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I found wasn\u2019t great,\u201d says Copeland, who founded the Diener School in Bethesda a decade ago to help children with social and educational challenges. \u201cAdults with disabilities are not provided opportunities for inclusive housing. There\u2019s a lack of opportunities for continued education and a lack of social connections with the neurotypical community. They aren\u2019t getting a seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copeland says less than a quarter of adults with disabilities nationwide live independently because affordable housing choices are limited and there\u2019s little intentional inclusivity. While Main Street doesn\u2019t offer one-on-one assistance to residents, they are welcome to bring in caregivers if they need help with everyday needs or to participate in activities.<\/p>\n

Main Street residents also have the option to sign up for a community coaching program for connection, skill-building and fun. Activities include cooking meals together, games, visits to local parks and restaurants and social skills discussions. The group meets on Sundays, and coaches check in with participants during the week when they focus on such skills as apartment cleaning, personal hygiene and community safety. The eight-week program costs $245, and financial aid is available.<\/p>\n

Copeland reports that Nicolas is thriving at Main Street. \u201cI see him walking taller and with pride and feeling a sense of independence, a normalcy he sees in his cousins and friends and desperately wants. He\u2019s been able to build a community for himself,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Copeland and her husband Scott Copeland, a principal with RST Development, an affording housing developer, began the Main Street project in 2017. Funding has come from the state of Maryland in the form a low-income tax credit with a $15 million value, as well as a $2 million grant from Maryland\u2019s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Fundraising from private individuals and foundations has brought in an additional $5 million.<\/p>\n

The apartment building\u2019s accessibility features include electronic doors, no-step entrances and audio notifications in elevators. A handful of units were built to meet the standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act, while the rest are ADA adaptable, with moveable kitchen islands, low-pile carpet and smartphone-controlled thermostats, among other features.<\/p>\n

Interest in moving into Main Street has been overwhelming, says Stacey Watson, the community\u2019s director of member experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the phone lines opened in March 2020 for people to express an interest in the apartments, thousands upon thousands of people called,\u201d Watson says. \u201cWe have a waiting list that\u2019s like several hundred pages long. Even the market-rate apartments having a waiting list.\u201d<\/p>\n

This speaks to the dearth of affordable housing options for many people, with and without disabilities, Copeland says. She has consulted with communities across the country about creating similar communities, but Main Street \u201cis the only place in the country I know of with all the bells and whistles and programming,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Residents with disabilities can also apply to work part-time at the front desk and the Soulfull caf\u00e9, a partnership between Rockville\u2019s Dawson\u2019s Market and Main Street, making smoothies and sandwiches.<\/p>\n

Sabria Still counts herself as one of the lucky few to land an apartment. She lived in Prince George\u2019s County, but after getting a job with the Montgomery County Council she was afraid she wouldn\u2019t be able to afford to move to the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely grateful for being able to afford my rent and not have to choose between what bills I can afford during such an economically volatile time,\u201d Still says. She is also happy she can walk to work and that Main Street is just a few blocks from the Rockville Metro station.<\/p>\n

Main Street Connect, the on-site community center, is yet another perk, according to Still. \u201cMain Street has made it possible for me to engage with my neighbors and passions from the comfort of my home,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen COVID hit, our community members with disabilities were the first to be furloughed or laid off, the first to have their hours cut. There was nothing for them socially,\u201d Watson says. \u201cNone of the Zoom [programs out there] were designed or created for people with disabilities or even in an inclusive way. Nothing was thought about for them for accessibility. So we said we have to figure something out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Street Connect launched last summer with a few Zoom programs per week and now offers 20 weekly programs, some virtual and others in person.\u00a0 The 10,000-square-foot facility includes a fitness center, a teaching and commercial kitchen, a multimedia room and a classroom.<\/p>\n

However, a large number of participants don\u2019t even live in the apartments, joining online activities from as far away as Texas and Oregon. Unlimited access to programs \u2014 try a Muscle on Main, an exercise class, or a charcuterie master class \u2014 costs $75 a month. A $20 monthly membership option is also available, with members paying $5-$15 for each class they choose. Financial assistance is available to help cover membership fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are always mindful we\u2019re not watering things down, but also not making them too complex so that they\u2019re not approachable or accessible. I think we\u2019ve done a really good job of meeting the middle of the curve for the people we serve,\u201d says Watson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis inclusive programming is the ticket. It\u2019s a space for people to come together,\u201d adds Copeland. \u201cTake the Muscle on Main class where a participant with special needs sees a neurotypical person come into class and knows they are both welcome there. This is how you build community, not out of charity, but organically and out of kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Eli Lewis comes home to the Rockville apartment he moved into a year ago, he passes the cylindrical-shaped Soulfull cafe connected to the building by a skywalk. Inside, mosaics and artwork by residents line the lobby walls. Next to the elevator, a colorful sign reads \u201cMain Street. Inclusivity Redefined.\u201d For Lewis, who has Down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,32,61],"tags":[255,254],"yoast_head":"\nInclusivity is the Main Idea - Montgomery Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rockville's brand new inclusive apartment building, Main Street, offers a space for people of all abilities to come together.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/inclusivity-is-the-main-idea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inclusivity is the Main Idea - Montgomery Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rockville's brand new inclusive apartment building, Main Street, offers a space for people of all abilities to come together.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/inclusivity-is-the-main-idea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Montgomery Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-23T20:45:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-25T14:21:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/LDS_8975-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1726\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Barbara Ruben\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Barbara Ruben\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/inclusivity-is-the-main-idea\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/inclusivity-is-the-main-idea\/\",\"name\":\"Inclusivity is the Main Idea - 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