About us
Built for the moment school-based services end — and the questions that follow
About First Coast Ability & Wellness Center
When adults with intellectual and developmental differences leave school-based services, the structured support they relied on often disappears overnight.
Our story
Meet Mike & Jenna Jones
In the past, we have always enjoyed helping people with IDD’s as Physical Therapists. It was very rewarding helping them achieve and prolong independence as well as help families and caregivers. We volunteered with the Special Olympics which always brought joy to our hearts seeing these individuals get to participate, compete, and be a part of the community.
Flash forward to today, our lives have been blessed with 2 incredible girls, one of which has Down syndrome. This has much further ingrained us in the IDD community and it has really been eye opening learning about available resources from this lens. It is all too common for needs to go unmet in health, medical, social, and education arenas. Professionals will overlook their needs and write these shortcomings off as “par for the course with xyz diagnosis”.
We want to help change this narrative. We want to help establish a First Coast where all abilities are celebrated and all voices are heard. We want to help push for healthy living and healthcare that seeks to understand specific needs. We want to create a social environment conducive to all abilities to be heard and able to participate. We want to advocate for policy change that will enrich and enhance the lives of all. We want to educate in hopes for independence and educate the community on how we are all better off when everyone is involved.
We all can make a difference and better our community. Follow along to see our journey and if you’d like to be a part of it, please reach out!
Meet our Board of DirectorsWhy our approach is different
Research-based, and built around the whole person
Most wellness options treat mind and body as separate problems — or offer fad diets and workouts with no accountability that fade the moment motivation does. We take a research- and data-based approach tailored to each individual, addressing both mind and body together. Our focus is sustainable, dignified wellness that becomes a lifestyle, not a short-lived fix.
Mind and body, together
We treat the whole person — building physical health and confidence, focus, and independence at the same time. That holistic view is the heart of what we do.
Research and data, not fads
Our programs are grounded in current research and shaped by data for each individual, so progress is measurable and built to last rather than to fade.
Individualized by design
No two people arrive with the same goals or abilities. Every plan is tailored to the individual, meeting each person exactly where they are.
Where community and wellness meet
Rooted at The Arc Village in Jacksonville
First Coast Ability & Wellness Center is located at The Arc Village in Jacksonville, FL — a setting built around inclusion and connection for our community.
Community engagement is part of our promise, not an afterthought, and this home helps our members build the relationships that make wellness sustainable. We are not yet open to the public, and we're preparing to welcome adults with developmental differences across Florida very soon.
Stronger Minds. Healthier Bodies. Fuller Lives.
Help us open the doors — or stay close as we grow
As an IDD wellness nonprofit in Jacksonville, FL, we're building something Northeast Florida has never had before — and we'd love your help to make it real.