Families convert old winery into special needs community

For Ann Brownsberger and Mary Roberts, evenings like this are what they envisioned a year ago when they began meeting with a handful of other parents to map out their children's futures.

On this night, the two mothers watched as their kids, 17-year-old Alison Brownsberger and 20-year-old Jacob Roberts, bounded on a trampoline outside an old farmhouse on a scenic stretch of land in rural Johnson County.

Inside a nearby multipurpose building, other young adults with intellectual disabilities were spending time together, while outside, their parents chatted beside a freshly painted barn and rolling vineyard.

"It's kind of been startling just how easy the transition has been," said Mary Roberts, whose two children, Jacob and 22-year-old Kelsey, are autistic. "They really enjoy coming out here, and that's been the case with all the kids. They've all been immediately comfortable, and I'm not sure why, but it's nice."

It's this sense of community and a family that the parents have been striving for as they lay the groundwork for what they're calling the Village Community, a place for people with intellectual disabilities to learn together, work together and, one day, live together.

Four Iowa City area families have banded together to purchase the grounds of an old winery just outside of West Branch, where they plan to host enrichment programming for their kids and other young adults with intellectual disabilities. Eventually, they plan to convert the farmhouse into a residential facility for young adults — both from their families and new families they partner with — when they're ready to leave their parents' home.

Brownsberger said the idea was born in 2013 when the families met at a seminar in Coralville about guardianship for adults with disabilities. Afterward, the families got together at a restaurant to mull a larger topic that weighs on the minds of many families like theirs: How will their children be cared for and provided for years from now after their parents are gone?

"We were looking for a model where we could continue to be that primary caregiver and protector, but we wouldn't be doing it on our own because we're acutely aware that we're not going to live forever," Brownsberger said. "Our children will mostly likely outlive us, so it was really important to us that they be cared for beyond our lifetime."

The problem was, the parents found, such a model didn't exist. While there are group homes and services for people with disabilities, those are often geared toward those who can advocate for themselves to a degree — something their children won't necessarily be able to do as they grow older.

"We talked about creating this model where we were all working together cooperatively, and we got to know each other's families and kids and their needs — going back to that larger extended family that maybe used to exist in communities —where we would care for each other and each other's kids," Brownsberger said. "Then there would be something sustainable that could last beyond our lifetime."

So they set to work putting together their own program, visiting places like Scattergood Friends School and the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City for inspiration for the residential component, and sought out a property upon which to build it.

Earlier this year they found the perfect site — a rural, 10-acre spread between Iowa City and West Branch along Herbert Hoover Highway. The former home of Wallace Winery, which closed in 2009, the property had everything the families needed already in place: a roomy and well-cared-for house, an immaculately maintained barn, a versatile multipurpose building and a large acreage for gardening and outdoor activities.

The families finalized the purchase of the property last month, and after establishing themselves as a nonprofit organization, they will begin hosting their first enrichment programming in October. They plan to start with a music therapy class and are planning future programs for art, dancing, gardening and other activities.

After closing on the property, Joe and Deb Blair, whose son, Michael, 16, has an intellectual disability, moved their family from Coralville to the farmhouse in August to serve as on-site caretakers.

Joe Blair said because of his Michael's limited speech and other challenges, spending time with others his age has always been difficult. Connecting with the other families has been life-changing for both their son and he and his wife, he said.

"He has some issues that make it difficult to go over to someone's house, or have someone over to our house, so we've become very isolated," Blair said. "And here we are, suddenly in a group. It's amazing."

The families hope to partner with existing programs such as the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, as well as involve students studying speech, music and recreational therapy at the University of Iowa.

They don't intend to begin moving in their adult children into the home for another three to five years, at the earliest. While the house is currently zoned to accommodate up to eight residents with intellectual disabilities, future plans include building out the home in phases, with the idea of each person having an individual living suite, and sharing areas like the kitchen and dining room.

The four founding families — the Brownsbergers, Blairs, Robertses, and Brenda and Todd Kurtz, and their son Tyler, 20 — have already formed close bonds.

On this night, Alison rode around the vineyard on a tractor with Joe Blair, and shared hugs with the other parents as they talked.

"By the time they move here, they'll be very comfortable with each other and the property," Ann Brownsberger said. "And these are kids that take time to adjust, so they can do that slowly."

And after just a few weeks living on acreage, Joe Blair said it already feels like home.

"Eventually we'll say goodbye to this world," he said. "But we'll have other parents who will love my son, and he'll be a part of family, even when we're gone. That's the driving goal for us all."

Reach Josh O'Leary at 887-5415 or joleary@press-citizen.com.

On the web

• To learn more about the Village Community effort, including how to get involved or donate, go to www.thevillagecommunity.org.

• To see more photos of the families converting the old winery to the Village Community, go to www.press-citizen.com.