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Organization helping people with disabilities become more independent

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Once a week Katie Nunez works on a masterpiece. She's in a program that helps people who are developmentally disabled.

"It's fun to do and it keeps me busy, " said katie. 

For Katie, it's a fun way to learn how to be creative. For workers, it's their way of helping adults like Katie be more independent.

"Each of the pieces of art work that they work on, they sign the back of it. and once we sell the piece, each of the clients gets to make a commission and that's part of them earning some wages," said Kimberly McCarten, president of the ARC of Palm Beach County.

She says recent funding cuts are affecting the organization.

"It's a little bit easier to get extra grant funding for children. but for our adults it's a bit harder so we have to find new ways to create different things to do, which is why the art is so important."

Changes she says, that affect the entire family.

"We have aging parents, how can we take care of them, how can we create as much independence for that individual as possible so that maybe they could be on their own, they can get a job, they can start bringing home a paycheck."
 
Though Katie is able to make some money, what she enjoys most is seeing the person who is buying her works of art.

"I see a smile on the person's face how they like the artwork, the artwork that we sell," she added.