Situated on 220 acres with an abundance of green space in Godfrey, Illinois, Beverly Farm is a pleasant place to live and work for adults (18 and older) with developmental disabilities. A 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, Beverly Farm is a planned community designed to enhance the lives of our residents, develop their life skills, and provide the required medical care and a variety of therapies. Now in our second century of care, Beverly Farm’s vision is to be the home of choice for individuals with disabilities and their families.

It is important to note that our work is not duplicated or paralleled by any other organizations in the community. While there are other organizations in the community that work to address the needs of adults with developmental disabilities through therapy and work, Beverly Farm is the only organization of its kind in our area of Illinois that offers a complete community for adults with developmental disabilities --- seamlessly blending work, recreation, and living arrangements among a peer-centered and home-like environment.

Beverly Farm was founded in 1897 by Dr. William H. C. Smith and his wife Elizabeth. They had been searching for a suitable tract of land where they could establish a fundamentally different approach in caring for people with developmental disabilities. William and Elizabeth found the perfect location in Godfrey, Illinois where they would offer a caring home, socialization, proper medical care, healthy diet, physical exercise, education, recreation and meaningful work – a radical concept at the time.

They named the land Beverly Farm in honor of Dr. Smith’s birthplace in Beverly, Massachusetts. And, with two residents and two buildings, William and Elizabeth began their journey and their dream. A lot has happened between then and now, but the vision of two people from Massachusetts still drives the mission and belief system shared by the staff of Beverly Farm and the many families they serve.

$5,000. That’s what Beverly Farm must pay each year for nearly every resident after state reimbursements are received. In total, this “cost of care gap” amounts to about $1.5 million every year … these are real dollars used on a daily basis to provide the nearly 400 men and women with developmental disabilities who call Beverly Farm home with compassionate care, meaningful work, and an abundance of opportunities to learn and play. The only way this “cost of care gap” is covered each year is through the generous support of our donors.

In addition to the “cost of care gap,” Beverly Farm must raise private funds each year to provide these three unique programming features that help set Beverly Farm apart from other organizations like us across the country:

Our Equestrian Center: One of only a handful of equestrian facilities in the region, our Equestrian Program provides our residents with special exercises, activities and games that are designed to improve balance, posture and self-confidence — and it’s a lot of fun!

Our Recreation Center: Named for our founder’s son, Groves B. Smith, the Recreation Center is a modern, multi-purpose facility where residents take part in a variety of social events, aquatic therapy, and sensory stimulation.

Our Horticulture Center: Years ago, Beverly Farm had the ability to construct a green house on the main campus. The facility was used to provide interactive education and therapy to residents through the growing of flowers and other plants. In recent years, the program has been suspended due to lack of funding. It is our hope to re-establish this program, and we’re moving in that direction having recently received grant funding. Soon, residents may once again be able to learn about all that is involved in the growing of plants, with the potential sale of these items to the local community to help sustain the program in the future.