Noah’s Ark Communities to Provide Residential Living
for Adults with Disabilities, focused on Autism
Noah’s Ark Communities is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing a safe residential living, learning and work environment to individuals living with developmental disabilities generally, with a focus on the autistic spectrum disorder. The organization’s mission is to develop residential villages nationally, serving approximately 120 individuals each. Residents of Noah’s Ark Communities typically will be age twenty-one and over because state-provided benefits are generally terminated when an individual reaches such age.
The State of Florida ranked 47th nationally in providing support services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (“ID/DD”). There were over 6,000 citizens with ID/DD waiting for critical support services without funds available. Individuals with intellectual/ developmental disabilities often struggle to find employment and to feel part of society. The need for support services is real and the demand has been increasing exponentially over the last decade.
Noah’s Ark Communities raises awareness to the needs of the developmentally disabled. It creates opportunities for safe housing and employment with the support of full-time, salaried health care and other professionals to assist in the daily activities of its residents. Noah’s Ark Communities will affiliate its program with other similarly-motivated programs which provide opportunities for individuals with special needs.
The proof of concept is provided by the affiliated Villages at Noah’s Landing opened in mid- 2016, in Central Florida’s city of Lakeland. It’s a community with one, two, three, and four bedroom shared apartments. Each resident enjoys the privacy of their own bedroom and bathroom. The master plan emphasizes sustainability and harmony with nature. Residents can choose to enjoy a variety of rewarding lifestyle offerings, including education, arts, a training center, daily activities, an accessible pool, walking trails, and an optional dining room. A special focus is to integrate residents in the community at large through promoting work opportunities in order to achieve an individual’s highest possible level of independence.
In addition to salaried staff, Noah’s Ark will rely on available programs through the Medicaid Home and Community Based Waiver Program, State and Federal Housing programs as well as volunteers, and on partnerships with universities for ongoing internship programs. Beyond grants, subsidies and donations, our organization also innovates with donations through Pooled Income Funds.
Egide Thein, Chairman and Founder of Noah’s Ark Communities summarized the plight of caregivers, most often the parents of the developmentally disabled: “Those children will likely outlive their parents. Where would they live? Who would care for them? Would they have friends? Would they have a reasonable quality of life? Most importantly, how would they survive once their parents were no longer around to take care of them? My wife and I have a forty-two- year-old son who has required support services his entire adult life. Speaking from experience, we have found that there is a dramatic and urgent need for quality care. We need to get more done: a civilization is measured by how it treats it’s most vulnerable.”
Clifford “Chip” Olson, Member of the Board overseeing the development states,“Starting from the definition of needs, Noah’s Ark of Southwest Florida will achieve two basic goals. It will offer low-cost residential rentals and promote independence and quality of life for the developmentally disabled. There will be a choice of two types of residences available, the Group Homes will house thirty-six residents and the Residential Buildings will house ninety-two residents. The Naples/Ft. Myers area is the perfect location for the newly planned Noah's Ark Community. The plan includes a choice of affordable housing, with a secure gated entrance, nature preserve, community lake, clubhouse, lazy river and pool, bike and walking path, on-site store, hydroponics garden, administration offices, and hotel for residents' guests and public use for guests with disabilities.”
Egide Thein was born in Luxembourg and lives in Naples Florida. Egide graduated from the Belgian Military Academy (Ecole Royale Militaire), as well as from the US Defense Information School. He founded the Luxembourg Business Journal and the Luxembourg-American Chamber of Commerce in New York. He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Truth Technologies, a company developing solutions to combat financial crimes, money laundering, terrorist financing and bribery. He founded Noah’s Ark Communities in 2018.
Clifford (Chip) Olson, Operations & Project Manager, is the CEO of RE1 Advisor, LLC. RE1 Advisor is a real estate advisory & management service that provides professional knowledge to create real estate and business opportunities as well as solve problems with real estate investments nationwide. Since 1987, Chip has marketed or developed large office complexes, industrial condominiums and residential projects in Southwest Florida.
For more information contact Jeff Schlesinger at AIM - Advertising & Integrated Marketing, schlesadv@gmail.com or Chip Olson at 239.280.0733, or chip@noahsarkcommunities.com. Noah’s Ark Communities corporate office is located at 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 200, Naples, Florida 34108. Online at www.noahsarkcommunities.com.
