A new residential community for adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities is now in Lexington in the former Central Midlands Transitional Retreat located at 201 Duffie Dr. The Unumb Place is a part of The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment in Columbia, providing services for people with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The grand opening was held on April 1, kicking off Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month. A huge crowd of supporters, employees and family members flocked to the opening and explored the campus, which is not completely finished yet. There are still residential homes under development.

“This is a new residential community with progress and compassion. It’s a place to live, thrive and truly feel at home,” Lorri Unumb, the founder of The Unumb Center, said. Unumb also has a son, Ryan Unumb, with autism and has been a passionate autism advocate who helped get Ryan’s Law passed in 2007. Ryan will be one of the residents.

Unumb wants people to know about the residential place and invites people to volunteer and get to know the residents.

“You can come onto campus and play activities. We invite you, we want you and need you to be involved with our residents,” she said, thanking a large list of supporters including Rep. Nathan Ballentine, Mt. Horeb Church, Palmetto Civitan and Leadership Lexington. Leadership Lexington took on the Unumb Place as its project and helped clean up and work on the property.

Ballentine said, “It’ll be here for the community to see these adults grow and have a place to call home.”

The center will help the adults with life skills and it will be a safe and comfortable living space providing social and recreational activities, valuing family involvement and partnership, according to its website. Currently, the office and recreational space are nearing completion with one community training home, otherwise known as a CTH II.

CTH II offers residents opportunities to live in a home environment while receiving around-the-clock care. There are four residents per home, but each resident has his or her own room. In order to be eligible, residents will need to be on the state’s Intellectual Disability and Related Disabilities (ID/RD) waiver, which is processed through the state’s Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN).

Jessica Hudson is the executive director and former nanny for the Unumbs. Hudson said there will be four CTH II homes under 24-hour care staffed with trained Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs. Other amenities include a greenhouse, activities and games spread throughout the campus with close proximity to Lexington County recreation on Duffie Drive. A tennis court is located right across from the campus. Hudson says there is also a plan for a pool.

Hudson began as a nanny learning about applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy and worked her way up, learning all things autism-related.

“I was asked to be an ABA therapist. I shadowed ABA teams and the rest is history,” Hudson said.

When it comes to the programs and services at Unumb Place, Dr. Amanda Kelly is the director of adult services and working towards a growing list. She said they eventually want to add SLP homes or Supportive Living Program housing. SLP housing provides more independence than CTH housing, allowing residents to live in their own homes while still receiving daily living support.

Kelly will also be in charge of coordinating volunteer activities, programs, day services and many other services for the residents. She met Unumb 15 years ago out of state and it was a phone call that prompted Kelly to move from Hawaii to South Carolina to help with the center.

At the grand opening, there were family members who have adult children with disabilities. They expressed their relief and satisfaction with knowing there was a place for their children to live and be cared for after moving out of the house.

Candice Scott has two grown children with autism.

“As a parent, it’s difficult to let go but they will have an amazing facility here. It’s overwhelming,” she said. “I always knew we had to do something but it’s hard to slowly loosen those reins.”

She adds it’s important for them to “discover the life they want to live.”

Scott says she has looked all over the South for this kind of resource, so it’s a relief to have a housing community local and close to her home.

“It’s a dream to be completely independent,” she said, explaining that all parents want this for their children but when you have children with disabilities, it’s more difficult.

The Unumb Center is not the only place in the state that offers CTH 2 housing, but they are another option for families looking for something different from the status quo.

Tominka Grant is the administrative director who will help families and residents with admission and answering questions. She has over 20 years of experience working with people with autism and also has a son with ADHD.

“I hope individuals have the life to be independent and as happy as possible. They have the same goals and achievements as anyone else and we want [Unumb Place] to be like any other neighborhood,” she said.

More information about Unumb Place can be found on its website, where families can learn more about eligibility requirements and costs.