By Andy Furman
The Point/Arc
The Point/Arc’s coffee shop – The Point Perk — is going to the dogs – literally. The Dog Days of Summer are right around the corner, and The Perk is ready – and waiting.
“Our Dog Days will actually commence on Friday, August 1st,” Rachelle Ungerman, The Perk’s general manager, said. “We’ll have dog merch, homemade treats for the canines, and a voting for the Pup of The Perk.”
And a dog adoption is planned in conjunction with SAAP – Stray Animal Adoption Program – set for Friday, August 8th from 5-7:30 p.m.
Stray Animal Adoption Program (SAAP) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that exists to rescue, protect and provide care for at-risk pets.
“Our individuals who work in The Perk have great interactions with the dogs that enter with their owners on a daily basis,” Ungerman said. “This event is a great tool for enrichment for the individuals who work here with us.”
The workers at The Point/Perk are individuals with (I/DD) – with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “These individuals are highly motivated by these pets,” added Ungerman, “And that’s why we decided to do this event.”
In fact, Ungerman says, even dogs are motivated by The Point-Perk.
“We can see the dogs brushing up against our windows and actually bringing their owners in with them for coffee,” she said.
Ungerman is going all-out with this event. A professional barrister, she plans a month-long special drink, and The Perk will be decorated and posted with photographs of the customer’s dogs, she said.
“Anyone who comes in the shop with a dog,” she says, “Will have their photo taken and posted on our wall. And, prizes will be awarded for the top three dogs voted by our workers.”
In 1982, The Point/Arc opened its first social enterprise, The Point Restaurant, to provide vocational training to individuals with I/DD. In 19085, The Point Commercial Cleaning Company and Employment Program was added to provide job training, placement, and lifelong follow-up.
Point Commercial Laundry was established in 1996. In 2012, The Point/Arc opened the doors to the Point Apparel – formerly The Point Logo and Design Company.
The Point Perk – located at 43. W. Pike Street, Covington — opened in 2015 as a way for the community to come in for a “feel good” cup of coffee and see the mission in action.
The Point/Arc established its first group home in 1995. The Point currently owns and operates 18 well-maintained homes in Northern Kentucky that house nearly 70 residents. The group homes are in Campbell, Kenton and Boone Counties.
The Point/Arc was founded in 1972 by a group of parents fighting for the educational rights of their children, who were diagnosed with an intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disability. The mission – to help people with disabilities achieve their highest potential educationally, socially, residentially, and vocationally. More than this, The Point/Arc has been an organization that identifies gaps in services and provides care and support to fill these gaps – even when government funding sources are not available.