Two houses will open this year in Mathews—one by the end of this month and the other in the fall—to provide new opportunities for intellectually disabled individuals in this region and beyond.

The houses, located off a private road near Dutton, are part of The Brambles, a multi-campus facility owned by Clyde and Mary Forrest of Mathews. They also own The Brambles Day Support Center on Main Street and Bella Terra, a complex of six houses at North where almost 30 persons reside.

"This will be special," Clyde Forrest said of their new project. Besides housing up to six adults in each house, he said, the Dutton facility already includes active farmland—which is leased—and they plan to add a few cows and horses to bring a bit more nature to the residents there and some of those who use The Brambles’ other properties.

Also, the Forrests said they want to plant a garden the Dutton residents can help maintain and, if they receive county permission, erect ...