BROKEN ARROW - The non-profit, A New Leaf in Broken Arrow, is looking to expand to Owasso.
On Thursday, the Hilti Family Foundation made a $1 million contribution to help build a new residential and vocational training program.
Founders Stan and Irene Burnstein donated 50 acres of land in Owasso last year which is where the new $27 million extension housing project will be built to help prepare clients to live independently.
The Village.. A Path to Independent Living is A New Leaf’s expansion project which hopes to do just that by offering safe and affordable housing.
"People with developmental disabilities want to live independently just like you and I do but they sometimes can’t afford to in our community in a safe location," Mary Ogle, CEO of A New Leaf, said.
The residential community will be built to look like farm houses and offer more than 100 people homes and jobs for another 100.
The goal is to help transition them from their parent’s home and to be self-sufficient.
"Eventually, they’ll move out into a home of their own somewhere else into the community," Ogle said.
It's great for clients like Tim Randle, who has been with the organization for almost a year.
"Currently I’m getting work experience and then after that I suppose I’ll go back and finish my degree," Randle said.
A New Leaf received help from the Hilti Family Foundation who flew in from Germany to make it happen.
"In our extended family we also have one person that needs assistance and it’s just great to see institutions like this give people and individuals the opportunity to improve their lives out of their own virtues," said Michele Frey-Hilti.
Frey-Hilti said the residential community will take the non-profit to another level.
"He’s already 40 years old now, so when he was a child, unfortunately we didn’t have institutions like a new leaf at home," Frey-Hilti said.
This next step in growing the organization is not the only change Randle hopes to see.
"Generally and often, people with disabilities are often overlooked for things and simply put you can support us by not doing that," Randle said.
The extension will have two phases with different housing options available for clients.
The first phase will have housing for 57 clients and the second will house 43.
A New Leaf plans to raise $19 million in the next two years for the first phase and then break ground in 2020.
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