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2016 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 172
Commending Community Residences, Inc.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, February 25, 2016
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 26, 2016
 

WHEREAS, in 2015, Community Residences, Inc., celebrated 40 years of helping individuals with disabilities live fulfilling, high-quality lives of maximum independence and community inclusion; and

WHEREAS, Community Residences was founded in Arlington County in 1975 by a group of families, church organizations, and government leaders who worked collaboratively with local officials to establish a nonprofit agency that would bring together and expand efforts to help people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the agency, which was first called Arlington Community Residences, was at the forefront of a burgeoning movement to integrate people with special needs into the community; the goal of the grassroots organization was to create community-based options for people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities as an alternative to institutionalization; and

WHEREAS, the mission of Community Residences is to offer individuals with disabilities supportive housing and the physical, mental, and emotional services needed to facilitate independent and dignified living within the community; and

WHEREAS, the goal of Community Residences is to enable its clients to live close to and regularly interact with their parents, siblings, friends, and neighbors; the organization has established group homes and has greatly expanded its service area; and

WHEREAS, today, the services offered by Community Residences include case management, transitional assistance for people who were homeless, residential youth services, day programs, and home-based clinical and practical support for people living independently; and

WHEREAS, in the last 40 years, Community Residences has helped thousands of people; the organization provides specialized and focused attention to all of its clients and relies on volunteers, community partners, donors, and staff whose work and caring attention have made a positive difference in many lives; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Community Residences, Inc., on the occasion of its 40th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Arthur M. Ginsberg, president and chief executive officer of Community Residences, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect and admiration for the agency’s vital work on behalf of individuals with mental illness and intellectual disabilities.