TEXARKANA, Ark. - A remodeled building that includes a training kitchen for people with disabilities will become a reality in 2021 for Texarkana Resources for the Disabled.
"It will be a training center to help prepare people with disabilities for living on their own. It will help with life skills and include a state of the art kitchen that meets ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements," said Executive Director Jennifer Lewis.
The building will be on property already owned by Texarkana Resources at 3015 E. 19th St.
The funding for the project is from a $100,000 American Electric Power Foundation grant.
Jennifer Harland with AEP-SWEPCO (Southwest Electric Power Company) was happy to present the check to Lewis on Tuesday.
"It's a privilege to be able to help them make these changes," Harland said.
"We never would have been able to do this without AEP-SWEPCO. We never would have had that much starter money to do it. It's a really big deal," Lewis said.
The current building was built in 1968 and not created with a kitchen in mind, Lewis said.
The new kitchen will have lower counter tops and be easier for people with disabilities to move around in, Lewis said.
Texarkana Resources for the Disabled hopes the new building will allow them double the amount of people in its Disabilities Day program. There are 22 people in the program now but they hope to expand it to 50.
A large number of disables people also suffer from obesity, Lewis said. That is often because they have never been taught to cook healthy foods or how to shop for healthy foods. They will also learn other household skills along with basic household budgeting.
Part of the grant has also allowed Texarkana Resources for the Disabled to repave its parking lot and make it easier for wheelchairs to navigate it.
"We are just really excited about all of the things we will be able to do," Lewis said.