The Belle Center and the St. Louis Arc are joining together to form an expanded organization that will offer support services spanning all life stages for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and delays. The announcement was made jointly by Jodi Woessner, executive director of The Belle Center and Kathy Meath, president and CEO of St. Louis Arc
“Our organizations share a passion for assisting individuals living with disabilities to achieve their full potential. We believe this is a substantial opportunity for both organizations to more effectively serve people with disabilities in the St. Louis area,” explained Woessner. “With this joining of forces, The Belle Center will be able to increase the number of children and families reached in our area and provide a greater depth of innovative programs and therapies to our existing clients.”
Effective July 1, The Belle Center will operate as a part of the St. Louis Arc, a United Way agency, and will be recognized as Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc. The Belle Center will move from its current office at 10916 Schuetz Road to the St. Louis Arc’s recently renovated location at 1177 N. Warson Road in the coming weeks. The combined organization will have a staff of 540 full- and part-time employees and therapists. Four members of The Belle Center board will join the St. Louis Arc board.
“The Belle Center brings new expertise to St. Louis Arc in the areas of early childhood development and school-aged programming,” said Meath. “This merger will enable the resulting organization to provide cutting-edge therapies in early childhood services throughout the St. Louis metro area, strengthen advocacy efforts to effect real change for families and our community, and expand our research efforts in developmental disabilities.”
Currently, The Belle Center serves more than 800 children and families through physical, occupational, and speech and language therapies. St. Louis Arc, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2010, provides support for more than 3,500 children and adults with developmental disabilities annually.
According to Woessner, a strong factor in The Belle Center’s decision to join St. Louis Arc was the support it provides to individuals who have graduated from The Belle Center’s programs, which currently serve children from birth through age 13. By joining together, Belle Children’s Services can provide a smooth and seamless transition for children as they graduate from its services and programs.
Meath added that the organization will focus some of its first efforts to develop and offer new programming for children with autism, including expanding its staff and services to provide additional Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapies. ABA is an internationally recognized therapy developed from behavioral analysis and used to support individuals with autism by utilizing several techniques that increase useful behaviors and reduce those that may cause harm or interfere with learning. In addition, one staff member is currently working towards becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who can provide behavioral intervention and therapies to children with autism.