A New Leaf brings opportunities to Owasso
By Lizzy Petersen
Image of New Leaf Logo taken from the New Leaf website
A New Leaf, which started in 1979 with only one greenhouse, one coach and two clients, has grown to its current status of over 500 clients and more than 280 employees. They currently have six greenhouses and two permanent and two seasonal garden centers. New Leaf serves its clients who have intellectual and developmental disabilities by helping them become more independent and find employment.
There is a long way to go for A New Leaf, considering there is an estimated 30,000 people in the Tulsa area with these disabilities. Their mission is to provide job training, residential services and enhance life skills to grow their clients’ confidence and independence.
Mary C. Ogle, the CEO of A New Leaf, expresses that “...the most inspiring example of perseverance is that which our clients demonstrate every single day.”
The Village, an expansion of A New Leaf, is the residential area for their clients with developmental disabilities and/or autism. The intention of the Village is to create consistency in the residents’ lives and increase their personal decisions. The Village is meant to be safe, accessible and affordable.
The Village is a community that was built around a farm. They are working hard to expand their facilities of work training, residential housing/services and behavioral programs.
The first phase of their expansion plan includes a horticulture training center, housing for 62 clients, a single community home, five single-family homes, six units of a single-bedroom apartment building, a transition academy, a dining hall, an administration building and a two-acre farm.
Visiting The New Leaf’s farmers market is beneficial in many ways. Not only is it supporting a local business, but it is also supporting those working to better themselves and improve the community. It is beneficial to one's personal health since consuming locally farmed produce and goods increases individuals' tolerance to local allergies, which betters the immune system.
A New Leaf is the future. It provides ways for people with disabilities to work and be independent. This is very significant, considering resources provided by A New Leaf will allow a significant part of the Owasso community to thrive.