LA CROSSE, WI (WXOW)—Bridges of Belonging broke ground on a new Christian adult family home in La Crosse Monday afternoon.
The home will be a place for adults with disabilities to live together and grow in their independence.
Barb Durst is excited for the Bridges of Belonging home; she's hoping to be one of the four people chosen to live in the home once it's complete, this November, because she wants to be independent.
"She's pretty independent now, but yes it would be good that way," Dr. Joe Durst, Bridges of Belonging Board of Directors and Barb's father.
Right now, she's living with her 91-year-old father Dr. Durst.
"To have them live in a community with others, similar with disabilities would be, I think, a tremendous help," Dr. Durst said.
The home is a bridge between the family that a person with disabilities has grown up in and a new family that they will feel comfortable with and live permanently with them.
Staff from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse will assist residents in their home.
Once the construction is finished, Sue Gilbert's daughter Lynn also hopes to live there.
"If Lynn is able to live in their home, I think it will give her a sense of freedom, a sense of growth," Gilbert, Pres. Bridges of Belonging Board of Directors said.
Gilbert said it will be a place of respect, celebration and prayer.
"Did you feel the wind as father was blessing the ground? I think that was the Holy Spirit," Gilbert said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Their hope is the adult family home will be a blessing to those who live in it.
"I'm sure we'll be bombarded with applications," Gilbert said. "I hope those who can make it will certainly experience something beyond their wildest expectation."
Though breaking the ground was hard, literally, because there hasn't been much rain, living in the house shouldn't be.
The one story home will cost about $350,000 to build; so far they have 85-percent of the construction costs funded by donations.
Bridges of Belonging will begin taking applications for the four residential spots in August and hire staff in September.
Applications can be found at the Bridges of Belonging web site once they're available. Click here for a link to their web site.
