- November 27, 2024
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From left, Executive Director Erica Flores, Matt Sowers, retired Flagler Schools ESE teacher Suzanne Haibon, Board of Director Hector Flores, Vincent Cona, volunteer Eddie Velasquez and Alex Calder. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Vincent's Clubhouse member Elijah Holloway in the Enrichment Center's sensory corner. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Vincent's Clubhouse Executive Director Erica Flores moved into the new Enrichment Center on Nov. 4. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Members stretch outside of the Enrichment Center at European Village. Courtesy photo
Occupational Therapist Jackie Olson (right of white board) works with members in the adult program. Courtesy photo
Hector Flores, who is on the Vincent Clubhouse board of directors, with Vincent Cona. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Volunteers Michael Olson, Emmie Hammond and Caroline Lord with members Hailey Olson, Alex Calder, Vincent Cona, Matt Sowers and Pete Lagana (far right) with instructor Jackie Olson (rear center) and Executive Director Erica Flores (second from right) pose in front of the Enrichment Center on Day 1. Courtesy photo
Vincent's Clubhouse members work on the Personal Development unit of the Adult Program curriculum in the conference room. Courtesy photo
Erica Flores and her son, Vincent Cona, on Day 1 at the new Enrichment Center at European Village. Courtesy photo
Vincent’s Clubhouse finally has a clubhouse.
Erica Flores, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit, opened The Enrichment Center in European Village on Nov. 4.
The new center allows Vincent’s Clubhouse to expand its programs serving children and adults with disabilities through education, early intervention, social programs, support and advocacy.
For Flores, it’s the realization of a vision that has been getting sharper each year since she founded Vincent’s Clubhouse in 2016 as a one-week summer camp for children with autism and disabilities.
The organization is named after her son, now 16, who has autism spectrum disorder.
“It was because my son, Vincent, asked to go to summer camp with his cousins one year and there was nothing in our communities that could give him the supports that he needed,” Flores said. “So I prayed about it, thought about it, and we started Vincent's Clubhouse.”
After the summer camps, Flores received feedback that the kids needed more services, so Vincent’s Clubhouse began running social events and support groups. Flores started to do advocacy work with Florida Developmental Disabilities Council out of Tallahassee. The past two years, Vincent’s Clubhouse has presented the Autism Awareness Festival at Central Park in Town Center featuring over 40 vendors that provide resources for people with disabilities and their families.
Through it all, Flores kept her full-time job as the administrator of a nursing home. But she wanted to expand Vincent’s Clubhouse's programs further. And she wanted to find a permanent home for the organization. The summer camps were held Cattleman’s Hall at the Flagler County Fairgrounds. The Palm Coast Community Center was rented social events. Group programs were sometimes held in ice cream shops.
Flores wanted to start a comprehensive adult program, focusing on vocational training and life skills.
And she wanted to run Vincent’s Clubhouse full time.
“That was my dream,” she said. “But I kept pushing it off, pushing it off. Finally, in May, I took a look at my life and said, “OK, I have a phenomenal board of directors and qualified experts in their fields able to help guide our organization. I decided that I was going to step out of health care and follow my vision of what Vincent's Clubhouse needed to be. I wanted it to be a resource for all individuals with disabilities regardless of where they were on their journey.”
One day, Flores was sitting in Cattleman’s Hall with a dear friend, Debbie Lynch, who is the CEO of Inclusion & Diversity Enterprises. She told Flores that she wanted to help her find a permanent home for Vincent’ Clubhouse. She offered to provide first and last month’s rent and a security deposit. Flores said she was floored.
But as they were looking for locations, Flores said Lynch was not satisfied with any of the choices.
“She said we need to invest in a location that will be able to serve people with disabilities in Flagler County,” Flores said. “I said to her, Deb, ‘I love you, but I am currently unemployed and volunteering as the executive director for Vincent's Clubhouse. I'm not quite in the market for commercial real estate right now.’”
Lynch started laughing. She said, “No, I’m going to purchase it.”
Lynch put $76,000 down to buy the building in European Village that was previously a real estate office. They closed on Sept. 17, and on Nov. 4, Vincent’s Clubhouse began its first program at the new Enrichment Center.
The adult program runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. From 2 to 5:30 p.m., they hold their afternoon enrichment program for ages 8 and above.
They purchased a curriculum for the adult program. Dr. Timothy King, a former Flagler Schools director of Exceptional Student Education, who is on the board of directors for Vincent's Clubhouse, helped organize the content and how it should be taught.
There are 12 units that range from hygiene and social skills to managing money and independent living. It’s all vocationally focused with the goal of self-sustainability, Flores said. And it’s individualized. Instructors try to find out the members’ interests. Adults with autism or intellectual disabilities are no different than anybody else, Flores said. They’re unhappy when they have a job that does not align with their interests.
Beginning in January, Vincent's Clubhouse will partner with Coffee News with adult members delivering copies and organizing the deliveries.
The afternoon enrichment program focuses on speech and language development as well as social and life skills.
“The kids’ program is not much different than the adult program. It’s modified,” Flores said.
They are starting parent trainings, teaching parents about special needs trusts and guardianships. Every third Wednesday, Vincent’s Clubhouse partners with Flagler Schools’ ESE department at the Governement Services Building.
The second Thursday of every month, Amanda Redwine, a licensed mental Health counselor from Congruence Counseling, leads a support group.
They plan to have at least two social events a month for different age groups.
The camps will now run thoughout the summer at the Enrichment Center with different themes such as music, art, communication and sports. Vincent’s Clubhouse’s traditional camp will continue at Cattleman’s Hall, Flores said. Nancy Moses-Bennett, a speech and language pathologist, who worked in Flagler Schools for 25 years, is the camp director.
Flores sits back in her new conference room and admires the members working in the other room.
“These are amazing people,” she said. “They're amazing, resourceful, strong, brave people that have gone through things that most of us couldn't even imagine. They're resilient and they're happy. And as parents, we've had to grieve what we thought our life would be. And then we embrace what it is and love it.”
