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Sanford Homes For Special Needs Adults Moving Forward

September 28, 2007

The piece of land on Carthage Street where two group homes for developmentally disabled adults will be constructed has recently come to life. Members of a construction crew are busy building the facilities that will become home for these special residents from the Lee County area.

The two homes will be operated by Baptist Children’s Home of North Carolina (BCH) who maintains a Developmental Disabilities Ministry (DDM) in addition to their statewide residential childcare services. The institution dedicated to helping children and families broke ground a year ago on September 10, 2006 at the site located near Central Carolina Hospital.

According to BCH executive vice president, special ministries C.F. McDowell, the process to prepare for the construction phase has been slower than expected, but now the plan is officially on track.

“We have now received all the necessary approvals to move forward,” McDowell explains. “The appropriate permits are in place and the essential city reviews are behind us. We’ve recaptured the excitement we experienced when we first envisioned these special homes.”

Six years ago, Jane Willett-Cromer, a resident of nearby Gulf and mother of a developmentally disabled son, gave three and a half acres of land for the Sanford-based homes in memory of her husband Howard. The land was exchanged for the current piece of property on Carthage Street. BCH’s ministry in Sanford has been dubbed Willett Ministries in honor of her contributions and support. Her son John will move into the residence for males when it opens. The gender specific facilities will house six adult men and six adult women along with their caregivers.

Construction of both homes is scheduled to be finished by the end of January 2008. It will then take a period of three to four months to complete the inspection and licensing process.

“It’s been a joy to see construction begin,” McDowell says. “Just as the foundations for the physical buildings have been laid, the symbolic foundation laid during these past six years has prepared us for this important ministry in Lee County.”

Since 1885, Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina has reached out to children and families in crisis. BCH began with one campus, Mills Home in Thomasville, but now provides services in communities across the state.

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