Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Group Living assists clients, communities in Clark Co.

If one is not familiar with Group Living by name, it is likely that they do know about at least one of the non-profit organizations services.

From the Beehive Resale Shop to the Honeycomb Restaurant, the employees of Group Living are ready to help those who may not have otherwise been able to help themselves. Jane Lucas and Paul Shuffield of Group Living were the guest speakers at the Gurdon Rotary Clubs meeting on Thursday, Jan. 10.

Shuffield said Group Living has a history rich in helping those in the area who have developmental disabilities. Founded in 1973, the organizations purpose is to help each individual served reach the highest level of independence possible and to become an integral part of the larger community.

The Beehive Thrift Shop may be one of the organizations most well known ventures. Since opening in 1974, the store has provided job training for clients and a needed service for the community, Shuffield said.

The Honeycomb Restaurant was opened in 1995 to provide jobs and training for clients, and is now one of Arkadelphias most popular dining establishments. The restaurant has been featured three times in Southern Living magazine.

In late 2005, a fire destroyed the Honeycomb and Beehive. Since that time, the organization has concentrated its efforts on getting the two businesses back up and running. The Beehive was moved to another location in downtown Arkadelphia, and the Honeycomb was moved to its new permanent location in November 2006.

Shuffield sad that the new restaurant location was at least three times the size of the location that burned. The Honeycomb will now seat 250 people and has three conference rooms.

The services provided for the Group Living clients are important, Shuffield said, and Group Living has allowed them to be advanced in the community.

These are people that 30 to 40 years ago were written off by society, he said. Now they are probably some fo the best people Ive worked with.

Customer satisfaction surveys are being taken now at the Honeycomb, and Lucas said the biggest request in the survey is to begin opening the restaurant on Sunday. The plans for Sunday openings are in the works.

The most recent addition to Group Living is charitable bingo. The games are fund raisers for Group Living.

Bingo is played at Group Livings McClain Center in downtown Arkadelphia on the second, fourth and fifth Thursdays of each month. A progressive jackpot will be played on the fifth Thursdays. If it is not won, it will roll over and increase for the next fifth Thursday.

Group Living will soon begin a $10 million construction project that will rebuild the 700 block of Main Street where the Honeycomb and Beehive buildings burned.

This wouldnt be possible without the support of the community, Shuffield said.

Group Living is looking at the possibility of expanding its services to Gurdon and Amity in the future.

It doesnt matter about the challeng thats put before us, well take it on, Shuffield said.