December CV Spotlight on Desert Arc
The nearly 500 clients at Desert Arc are a very vulnerable population in the Coachella Valley. All of them suffer some level of developmental disability, and Desert Arc steps in to provide services, jobs, and even door-to-door transportation.
As they prep for lunch, CEO and President Richard Balocco stresses the need for local funding.
“Well, the money is going to be used for job training. Our clients..without job training, they can’t get jobs. We have a big training program here that is not funded by the state, so we’ll use that money to keep the program going,” explains Balocco.
State funding has simply not kept up with the needs for the developmentally disabled throughout the state, so important programs like Desert Arc are now having to fill that void with further community outreach and fundraising to ensure that clients get the services they need.
“Donations are really important, because the last general increase for funding like ours was 2006 and it’s been repealed since then. Without funding to bridge the gap, it’s really difficult. So (this grant) is really going to help.”
The H.N. and Frances C. Berger foundation focuses on groups within the community are are in special need or particularly at risk, so Desert Arc clients were a natural choice for the Spotlight grant.
“There’s nothing like Desert Arc in our community,” says Catharine Reid of the Berger Foundation, “and they reach so many people, and all the volunteers, and the people we reach are huge.”
Desert Arc clients are trained at their particular skill level so they can work outside jobs in the community. That means the training Desert Arc provides is integral to making clients more self-sufficient.
You can see Desert Arc clients at a variety of jobs throughout the Valley, such as Cinemark Theaters, The Yardhouse, Eisenhower Medical Center and Ernie Ball.
“They work at many places. They work at Desert Regional, they work at Eisenhower Medical Center. A lot of people go there, so they’ll see our teams there. They work at the City of Indio, and many other places here in the Valley.”
While some clients use public transportation, many are dependent on Desert Arc and its fleet of buses to get them to and from home and work. The needs are big, and the dollars are few. The Coachella Valley spotlight grant will be an enormous help.
You can support Desert Arc every November at the Coachella Valley Italian Festival, and this year, at the upcoming New York New Year’s Eve event, held in collaboration with Winewomen PSP. For tickets to the event on Dec. 31 2015 at the Renaissance Indian Wells, contact Kathleen at (760) 880-5010.
