1 / 5Reviews of Discovery Living are mixed and limited in number. Two reviewers praise the organization's long history and its role in helping residents build independence and life skills, while one detailed review raises serious concerns about a resident's safety and dignity, along with complaints about staff appearance and parking issues at a group home.
AI-generated from reviews and community data.
Discovery Living provides intellectual disabilities services for adults, and like most non-profit organizations, depends on the extraordinary goodwill of various individuals and community organizations. Heroes, really.
Our founding partner, the Knights of Columbus, has worked tirelessly to help ensure our sustainability through 40 years of on-going support. In addition to the Knights, we have been blessed by the generosity of our employees, individual donors, relatives and friends of people served, community foundations and local businesses.
The fact is, we simply could not provide the services we do without these people – people just like you.
Through their generous gifts, we have been able to provide a wide array of individualized supports to meet the needs of the individuals we serve. Home modifications, vehicle purchases and adaptations, and adaptive equipment are examples of routine expenses that are not covered by our funding sources.
Please consider the good you could do as a member of the community of donors that support the work of Discovery Living.
Learn more about how your gift impacts our communities and donate today.
Discovery Living provides services to adults (age 18 and older) with developmental disabilities.
In the mid-1970’s, parents in Linn County who had adult family members with developmental disabilities looked to the future with serious concerns. The local community had a growing variety of specialized programs, but residential services, such as small group homes, were few in number. Those that did exist were already full and had long waiting lists. Concerned groups from the community banded together to find a solution. In 1977, The Knights of Columbus formed a non-profit organization called Discovery Village (which would one day be renamed Discovery Living, Inc.) to meet this need.
Today, Discovery Living serves over 150 people in over 30 locations. Every person served by Discovery Living has an intellectual disability, and most have other conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, visual or hearing limitations and/or multiple disabilities. The organization employs over 200 staff, most of whom provide direct support for the residents when they are at home.
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Help Me Choose3.3overall · 7 ratings combined
3.3★ on Google (7)
Avalon May
Apr 2026
I was at Discovery for a little while. As someone that has Borderline ID they helped me to gain skills and helped me to grow! I am now living independently and growing a lot! I recommend this place to anyone looking for a place to send your uniquely abled loved one! Like every place it wasn't perfect but I got the help I needed! Thank you Discovery, for meeting me where I was at and being part of my journey!
JustBe Frank
Nov 2025
One of the residents gets locked out in all kinds of weather for extensive periods of time. He has a really hard time dealing with his emotions and when he gets locked out, he is crying and begging to be let back in, promising not to be bad any more for an extensive amount of time. He seems to need special attention and care, not being locked out of the house. You talk about dignity for your residents on your website but this does not fit your claims. Yes, they literally lock the mentally disabled man out of the house... even in the dead of winter. He had no hat or gloves on and his hands were red from the cold one day when we saw this. On this occasion he had been out for more than an hour like this. This is atrocious and abusive to a mentally handicapped person. Are these people not trained to manage the handicapped? They often park over sidewalks forcing people with their children and pets into the street. When called about it, the person who took the call brushed it off saying it's a monthly meeting and they are on their property. The sidewalk is public, not private and it IS illegal to block it. Park in the street if you can't fit your cars in the driveway. There is a LOT of room in the street. Some of the workers that come and go look shady, dress really sloppy, look like they fell face first into a tackle box and color their hair like troll dolls. What happened to being presentable and respectable while at work? If you can't afford decent attire, perhaps scrubs should be supplied. Some of the employees stand outside smoking and then flick their cigarette butts into the parkway grass. I sure hope the grass that they don't take care of doesn't get so dry that they start it on fire. With the winds we get here, it could become an out of control fire rapidly, endangering the people in the home and surrounding properties. Cigarette butts in parkway grass can negatively impact property values by creating an unkempt appearance and signaling a lack of care for the environment. This litter can deter potential buyers and reduce the overall appeal of the area. But they don't care, it isn't their neighborhood.
Aaron McElroy
Jul 2020
One thing that stuck out to me that I could connect with is that four Knights of Columbus councils raise money to help with people that have disabilities. I would participate in the Knights of Columbus in my hometown (Fort Dodge) growing up. After further looking into the organization, the combination of the longevity of the organization and success stories that came out of it are why it deserves five stars. You can truly see from the pictures displayed that the customers they get are happy and being well served.
Discovery Living, Inc. offers Independent Living, Memory Care, Respite / Short-Term Care and Skilled Nursing / Long Term Care.
Discovery Living, Inc. is located at 1015 Old Marion Rd NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Reviews of Discovery Living are mixed and limited in number. Two reviewers praise the organization's long history and its role in helping residents build independence and life skills, while one detailed review raises serious concerns about a resident's safety and dignity, along with complaints about staff appearance and parking issues at a group home.
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