“I thought I was a nobody, but when I learned to do some of these
jobs at Brookwood I told my mother that ‘I was now important.....and
a real member of the human race’.”
Brookwood is a God-centered
educational, residential, and entrepreneurial community for
adults with functional disabilities located in Brookshire,
Texas, just west of Houston.
Our first resident enrolled in
1985. Today, more than one-hundred citizens live in homes on
our 475-acre campus, work in one or more of several on-site
enterprises, exercise and play in the indoor swimming pool and
gymnasium, celebrate the presence of God in our inter-faith
worship center, and when necessary receive care in our clinic.
We
also serve citizens from the Houston metropolitan area who
participate in our day program.
Brookwood is funded through
tuition, private sector donations, and sales from our
entrepreneurial enterprises. We do not accept government
subsidy. The Brookwood Community is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
The cornerstone of our program
is education, education in the activities of daily living, and
in a very productive work program. Our enterprises entail work
our citizens can perform or learn to perform by guidance and
training of our skilled staff. The enterprises provide
opportunities for our citizens to learn new skills, enhance
their self-esteem, and showcase their contributions
and…then… Brookwood’s enterprises include crafts (candles, ceramics,
screen printing, garden sculpture and stonecast),
horticulture, retail stores, and the Cafe at Brookwood, with
food prepared by a gourmet chef.
By providing opportunities,
Brookwood expands the horizons of its residents, giving
lifelong education that enables them to:
• Develop meaningful
productive job skills • Hold real jobs in the community’s own business
enterprises • Experience the pride of contributing to their own
support • Grow socially, emotionally, and spiritually,
experiencing a richer, more fulfilling life.
Organizations from around the
world with similar missions come to Brookwood to study our
programs and collaborate to help adults with functional
disabilities.
Brookwood is organized into
three distinct areas.
1. The Village Center, is made up of a residential
Inn, Continuing Care and
Health Center, The Mabee-Cain Handcrafts Production
Center, The Donald W. Reynolds Activities Center, and
the Brookwood Worship Center.
2. The residential section, is composed of seven large
group homes and two staff homes on a quiet, curved
lane.
3. The last area is an enterprise zone of 39
commercial greenhouses, horticultural offices, a
concrete manufactory, one of Brookwood’s three
retail centers and the Brookwood Cafe.
Booker T. Washington once
said “I have learned that success is to be measured not so
much by the position that one has reached in life as by the
obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed.”
Brookwood demonstrates that
with God’s help, all people have a contribution to make to
society if given the opportunity.
We
also serve citizens from the Houston metropolitan area who
participate in our day program.
