A Boca Raton-based Jewish agency will soon open its 11th group home for adults with disabilities, hoping to make a big dent in its waiting list.
About 20 local families are seeking congregate housing for their loved ones through the agency, JARC Florida (Jewish Association for Residential Care), said Nancy Freiwald, senior director of programs. That’s a big improvement from 15 years ago, when 125 were awaiting housing.
The new 6,000-square-foot house, to be called the Jerry Greenhut Group Home, will be in the Nuvo Boca neighborhood, off Military Trail near Southwest 18th Street in Boca Raton. Situated on three lots, it will have eight bedrooms, with all residents getting their own rooms and bathrooms. The groundbreaking took place on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
“We are a model nationwide. Group homes are closing all over the state,” Jeffrey Zirulnick, JARC’s chief executive officer, said during the ceremony, adding that he often gets calls from nonprofit leaders asking how JARC continues expanding.
A beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, JARC has been steadily increasing its offerings since it was founded in the 1980s. The agency operates four group homes off Yamato Road in West Boca, four in east Boca Raton and two in Delray Beach. Each houses six to eight developmentally disabled residents, organized by age and ability, with one to three staff members on duty whenever the residents are home.
Most residents work in one of JARC’s day programs, where they learn job skills such as maintenance, packing and fulfillment and cooking.
Fees at JARC’s homes, which are open to people of all races and religions, total about $64,000 a year per person. JARC offers $1.2 million each year in financial aid and subsidies; about 75% of residents receive this assistance and several receive public assistance, such as Medicaid and community-based waivers, said Fallon Gechter, director of philanthropy and community relations.
JARC also operates apartments on the Jewish Federation campus and hosts social activities. Its four-story Caryn J. Clayman Life Skills Center, which will offer job training, activities for seniors and classes on how to live independently, is scheduled to open in December.
The Jerry Greenhut Group Home is expected to open in 2026. It is named in memory of the father of donor Jonathan Greenhut and his sister, Marcy, who lives in another of JARC’s homes.
When Jonathan Greenhut moved to Boca Raton in 2020, his sister remained in New York. He was thrilled to find a JARC home for her so the family could live closer to each other. As he learned about JARC, he became passionate about the agency and its mission, and said he is thrilled to be able to donate money to a cause that benefits not only his family but the greater community.
“Here’s to a new home that’s going to be spectacular,” he said at the groundbreaking.
