Activities, Recreation & Care: Loving Bigger

In the 1960s, there were few services available to parents who were raising children with Down syndrome. Refusing to accept the bleak expectations for their children, Los Angeles mothers Dixie Henrikson and Mary Schallert would meet in a small North Hollywood Park so that their daughters, who both had Down syndrome, could play together like other children with as few limitations as possible.

“Back in those days, the world was not a safe place for families with children with Down syndrome,” says Jennifer Pippard, Acting Executive Director of Activities, Recreation & Care for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (ARC-Cares). “There was no expectation that their children would even live, let alone thrive, so parents had to make very hard decisions on their own.” 

Inspired by wanting a place where their children and others like them could socialize and grow with their peers into adulthood while living their best lives, Henrikson and Schallert started ARC-Cares. It began as a camp where people with Down syndrome could socialize and enjoy many normal activities and experiences in a safe, family environment. Today the North Hollywood-based organization offers free day and weekend programs as well as live-in housing for its clients, primarily adults with developmental disabilities of all types, not just Down syndrome.

ARC-Cares offers everything from health and wellness education, cooking and socialization classes, arts and music, to marathon training and museum expeditions. The organization has a recently updated apartment building and residences where clients live and enjoy Independent Living services. ARC-Cares employs 24 full-time staff members and serves between 50 and 100 people every day through its programs.

“There’s a very strong sense of community here,” Pippard says. “It’s not unusual for our clients to have grown up together, and to live with people they’ve known for 15 to 20 years.”

Clients at ARC-Cares are protected and safe, but not separate from the world.  Some volunteer or hold down part-time jobs. Clients participate in a Bell and Chime choir that gives performances for groups, clubs, and even the Los Angeles City Council at City Hall.

“We want them to be in the world just like any of us, and also have the autonomy and dignity to live as they wish,” Pippard says.

The organization measures its successes by the health and well-being of the people they serve. Although they focus on catering to individuals between 22 and 59, they have older residents stay if their health allows: the most senior is Teddy, who is 66, and has been at ARC-Cares since he was in his late 30s. 

Pippard says the organization’s growth and success has put it in “uncharted territory.” 

“When ARC-Cares was created, it was never expected that any of our clients would live past 30, but innovations and support systems for people with Down syndrome like ARC-Cares have allowed them to thrive. Residents at ARC-Cares are happily enjoying their lives.” 

“There’s this energy of being greeted when you arrive at the houses,” Pippard says. “People say our clients learn differently, yet they love bigger than the rest of us.”