NASSAU COUNTY, Fla — When Frances Vest saw a need in Nassau County to help those will intellectual disabilities, she stepped in to fill void.
“Miss Frances is the nicest lady I've ever met. I don't know what I'd do without her,” Scott Tindall said.
That's a sentiment echoed by many who know her.
“She is the most selfless person. Anybody in Nassau County, if they hear her name, knows,” Jessica Freeman said.
Vest is the founder of Supporting Individuals with Disabilities Incorporated and a foundation by the same name. She runs two group homes in Nassau County to help those with intellectual and physical disabilities. Her agency also provides at-home services. She says her son inspired her to help others.
“I have a wonderful little son was born with born with disabilities. And he went to school at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind,” Vest said. “And when he came back to Nassau County, there was really nothing here, and so I thought, well, I did this for Chris, maybe I can do it for other people. “
Growing up in and out of foster care, Vest has worked hard to build community and is considered "mom" to many.
“The biggest thing she wanted was a family growing up,” Freeman said. “And she created that. She created one of the biggest families that Nassau County has for special needs programs. “
Freeman, who works with Vest, describes her as compassionate and caring with a giver's heart.
“She comes and picks them up a lot of times, and gets them out in the community and gets them little jobs where they can earn some side money,” Freeman said. “She helps encourage their dreams and never shuts them down.”
“She's created a home and a life and something they would never have if they didn't have her,” Bailey King, Vest’s granddaughter said.
“She goes out in the community and how she helps people, and just such a loving person. I mean, she just, she goes above and beyond the call of duty,” Sandra Jones said.
And that's why Frances Vest is one of our 12 Who Care.
“She is irreplaceable. I mean the things that she has done for some of these people in the community that she doesn't talk about,” Freeman said. “I mean, she'll wake up at two o'clock in the morning, if somebody calls in jump in her car, and hotel, go get them if they need a ride.”
Vest says she wants those she serves to know that she is always here for them.
“I want them to know that I love them. And if they ever need anything they know that can come to me no matter when or where, and I will do my best to honor their wishes,” Vest said.
Vest’s foundation is raising money to purchase about 50 annual zoo passes for the disabled so they can have access all year long with their families. If you'd like to help, click here.