About Us
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
The aim of Project ALEX Communities is to establish a safe living environment and create a community atmosphere for adults with disabilities and non-disabled individuals to live together, support each other, and thrive.
Our current goals:
One year from now: We will have identified an ideal property type and location for our first future community while continuing to raise funds for construction and building our community through regular programs and events, as well as through our social media and other online presences.
Three years from now: We will have purchased land for our first community and will be actively working on construction plans and receiving municipal approvals. At this point, we plan to be in active conversation with future residents and their families to best prepare our community.
Five years from now: We will have started construction on buildings for our first community and begun conversations on further developments through future communities, programs, and other means.
Our Story
Project ALEX Communities started when board president, Joelle Brescia, and her husband Tony, began to think about the future of their adult son, Alex. Alex lives with Tuberous Sclerosis, seizures, and physical and cognitive disabilities, and has lived with Joelle and Tony his entire life. As he came into his late twenties and they got older, they were faced with the same question that so many parents of adult children with disabilities face: How do we support him as we get older? What happens when we’re gone?
The options for semi and non-independent individuals with disabilities are lacking. Many established solutions cater towards independent individuals, and don’t meet the unique needs of this often forgotten portion of the disabled community. So many parents wish for their adult disabled children to have the same life and opportunities as everyone else, but there isn’t a place where that can truly happen.
In 2013, Joelle started Project ALEX, a small group of parents who wished to create a place where their adult children could find a safe community. After conducting a successful feasibility in 2016, Project ALEX Communities was finally established as an official 501(c)(3) in 2017.
Since then, we have been working tirelessly on achieving our goals. We started working with developers to create plans for our first community, and are now raising money to acquire land for our first location in the northwestern suburbs of Illinois.
We hope you will join us on our journey as it continues to grow into something truly incredible.