When John Pendzich, 27, moved out of a group home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and into his studio apartment in downtown Raleigh, his life opened up.
He got a job bagging groceries at Harris Teeter. There’s a YMCA around the corner where he likes to work out. He enjoys daily walks through the neighborhood around Hillsborough Street; he sometimes stops at Char Grill for a burger or at Morgan Street Food Hall.
Pendzich said he likes living at Grosvenor Gardens apartment complex because he has the freedom to go out whenever he wants. When he lived in the group home, he said, he had to ask for permission anytime he wanted to go out for a walk or cup of coffee…