First of Two Group Homes for Disabled Adults Opens in Brick

Mayor John Ducey (center) and Councilman Jim Fozman help cut to ribbon at a new group home on Drum Point Road. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Built from the ground up, a home with a fresh new design, pleasing colors and plenty of technology will welcome its four new residents soon in Brick Township.

The four-bedroom house on Drum Point Road is the first of two group homes for disabled adults that will open in the township this year. After it receives its license this week, as expected, the residents can move in and begin a new chapter, said representatives from Enable, a Princeton-based provider of group home services in New Jersey. A carbon-copy of the Drum Point Road home on Herbertsville Road will welcome its new residents soon as well.

“This particular home is for four young men who are medically fragile,” explained Lisa Coscia, Enable’s CEO. “Two of them are in hospital beds and two are ambulatory.”

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The opening of the group home is a long time coming. Despite a significant need for living space for disabled adults, funding has been scarce in recent years – and finding land, obtaining permits and licenses make opening group homes a major undertaking. Brick first set aside the two properties, which were owned by the town as part of its affordable housing inventory, for use as group homes in 2015. Funding was obtained from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and the lot was developed by Homes Now Inc. and built by Walters Group.

Mayor John Ducey and township officials were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, and were led on a tour of the ranch-style home that blends in to the surrounding area.

“It’s great because every single person in the world has the right to a life of dignity and respect, and we thank Enable for providing that,” said Ducey. “We can’t wait to be a great neighbor.”

A new group home on Drum Point Road. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A new group home on Drum Point Road. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

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Coscia said both the Drum Point and Herbertsville homes will be staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Residents attend a day program before returning home in the late afternoon. The Drum Point residence will serve those with medical disabilities while the Herbertsville Road home will serve those with intellectual disabilities. Both properties are wheelchair accessible and the bedrooms are equipped with break-out doors through which a hospital bed can be moved.

“There’s a huge need across the state” for such properties, said Coscia. “Homes are more difficult to open now that the funding stream has changed.”