2005-11-04

Condo complex offers independence

Stetson Place gives disabled people the ability to live on their own

By Brian Saxton

THE NEWS-TIMES

DANBURY — Sarah Bennett still finds it hard to believe.

For years, the 25-year-old former Newtown High School student often thought about owning a home.

This week, with a little help from her family and friends, and several social service agencies, Bennett realized that dream and closed on a deal to buy a city condo.

"I was on a cloud," Bennett said Thursday." It's the best thing that's happened in my life."

It wasn't a conventional deal.

Bennett, who has a learning problem, is among the first people with disabilities to own a unit at the new, privately developed Stetson Place condominium complex along Route 37.

"I think it will be good for me here," said Bennett. "I think I'll be able to grow and mature."

In all, thanks to the combined efforts of the Western Connecticut Association for Human Rights (WeCAHR), the Danbury Housing Authority and the Corporation for Independent Living, 10 affordable units were earmarked for sale to WeCAHR clients with mental or physical handicaps.

Additional fiscal support came from the Savings Bank of Danbury, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and McCue Mortgage of Hartford.

"It's been a long haul but we're there," said WeCAHR executive director Jean Bowen, who helped organize an open house for clients' families Thursday afternoon. "These people now have a home of their own and they're very proud of it."

Bennett is one of four clients who signed mortgages this week on the $145,000 units. All 10 two-bedroom homes, which are handicapped accessible, are expected to be owner-occupied by Christmas.

Bennett, who has a full-time office job in Danbury, will initially have a live-in companion but one day hopes to live independently.

"I think this is a wonderful opportunity for her," said Bennett's mother, Beverly, who lives in Newtown. "I see her growing every day and accepting responsibility."

Like other families who helped with home furnishings, Beverly Bennett gave her daughter items such as bedroom cabinets.

Bowen said clients were prepared for their new lives as homeowners by taking WeCAHR courses in subjects such as home and money management and being a good neighbor. Bowen said some will live alone while others will have caregivers.

"Clients will pay what they can afford each month based on a formula established by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development but they'll still be responsible for all the common charges in the complex and their utilities," Bowen said.

For Quentin Hughes III, another client who signed his mortgage this week, becoming a homeowner has made him feel "wonderful."

"I feel like I'm taking a new step in my life," said Hughes, who lives alone. "I think it's going to give me more responsibility."

Hughes, 30, is a communications and theater arts graduate of Western Connecticut State University and has Asberger's syndrome, a form of autism.

Aside from his job as a laboratory assistant at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Ridgefield, Hughes works part time as a cashier at a local supermarket.

Hughes' aunt and godmother, Patricia Leonardis, of Harrison, N.J., who visited him Thursday, described the Stetson Place program as "phenomenal."

"We're very proud of him," said Leonardis. "He's accepted this responsibility and he's grown."

Lisa Moran, 46, who rented a small studio in Danbury before moving to Stetson Place, also has a learning disability and works as a bagger at a local supermarket.

Becoming a homeowner has dramatically changed her life.

"Having a home of my own has given me a nice sense of freedom," said Moran. "I always wanted a bedroom with a door. Now I have one."

Contact Brian Saxton

at bsaxton@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3332.

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