ARC of Vermilion moving to new location in Abbeville

Someone recently asked Janise Hardy if she heard the rumor of Goodwill moving to a location in downtown Abbeville.
Hardy smiled and politely corrected the rumor.
“That’s actually us,” Hardy said.
“Us” would be the ARC of Vermilion, for which Hardy is the board president. The ARC of Vermilion is a non-profit that works to further the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Hardy, along with ARC of Vermilion Executive Director Scottie Daigle, announced Friday that the organization is taking over the corner near Charity Street and South St. Charles. The location is across from the Vermilion Parish Courthouse.
“This is a big move,” Hardy said.
The ARC of Vermilion board purchased the property earlier this year.
“All of the board of directors and everyone has worked hard for years to make this happen,” Hardy said.
Daigle echoed those sentiments.
“This is all possible not only because of the current board but all the ones who came before,” Daigle said. “They left us enough of a nest egg to be able to purchase this property.”
The location includes a larger building that will serve as the ARC’s new resale shop, which is currently located down Charity Street. A smaller building adjacent to the future resale shop will serve as the drop-off point and warehouse for donations.
A facility on the corner, which has housed multiple restaurants, will be a coffee shop that serves beignets as well as a gift shop. It will be called Miracles and Mementos. The back side of that building will be a car detail shop, called Can Do Details.
Each of the outlets on the property will be manned by those the ARC serves. Hardy said that is an important aspect of moving to such a visible location.
“We want to be seen out more in the community,” Hardy said. “The ARC’s mission is to provide jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We want people to see that our consumers can contribute.
“By coming downtown, people will have more exposure to see what our guys can do.”
Hardy said the goal is to have the operations up and running at the new location later this fall.
“We are hoping for October in time to be open for the Cattle Festival,” Hardy said. “It just depends on how quickly we can move after meeting with the city to get plans approved. By Christmas, definitely. We want to be part of the Christmas Stroll.”
Daigle stressed that patience has been a part of the process.
“We have had to learn to be patient,” Daigle said with a laugh. “We knew it would take some time because we have to follow the proper channels. We don’t want to do something and get shot down at the last minute.
“We are going to do everything we have to do to make sure it’s correct and we will be ready to go.”
The finished product will be worth any amount of wait.
“It’s going to be nice,” Daigle said. “It’s going to give us much more room to grow.
“It’s going to make us more visible and help people come to know what we do, because a lot of people don’t know what we do.”
Having more people learn about what the ARC of Vermilion does has Hardy the most thrilled.
“We are so excited because of this vision we have for our consumers,” Hardy said. “We want people to know exactly how much capabilities our guys have. They want to be here and they want to contribute.
“This move opens up endless possibilities for them to be able to show what they can do.”