She loves dancing, bowling and swimming. She is a die-hard Dodgers fan. Her favorite movie is Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. And she even has a heartthrob—the "bonbon" shaking wonder, Ricki Martin.

But, according to Jay Nolan Community Services of Campbell Supported Living Director Jennifer Lengyel, Jeffs' life wasn't always so enjoyable. Lengyel says Jeffs, who was born with Down syndrome, had a rough past, little family contact and difficulty finding a support network.

Today, with the guidance of her friends and support staff at Jay Nolan, Lengyel says Jeffs is making positive choices, participating in activities she enjoys and leading a richer life than before. She even lives in the same luxury apartment complex that members of the 49ers occupy while in the area.

"The Jay Nolan program is groundbreaking. We guide our consumers while still allowing them to make choices," says Cecilia Rivera, a support staff member at Jay Nolan. "We allow individuals to decide what they want to do, and then we let them go as long as the choice is safe. The decision can be unwise, and we might not agree with it, but it can't be unsafe."

Jay Nolan Community Services was founded in 1975 by the Autism Society of California. The nonprofit organization derived its name from that of the autistic son of silent film actor Lloyd Nolan, in honor of the elder Nolan's financial contribution to the Autism Society.

Although the program began as a network of group homes, its philosophy eventually departed from the structured and "one-size-fits-all" environment of a group home or institutional setting. Since 1992, the Jay Nolan Community Services program has provided support to enable individuals with developmental disabilities to live in their own homes, obtain jobs, and be, as Lengyel puts it, "a valued and contributing member of society."

"The cornerstone of the Jay Nolan philosophy is individuality," Lengyel says. "We try to get to know a person and focus on them as a unique human being, not a case study."

She adds, "The only label we put on someone around here is their name."

The Jay Nolan program provides developmentally disabled people with a network of support staff members who help them to achieve as much independence as possible. Incorporating a one-on-one relationship between clients and support staff with a personalized approach to activity planning, the program attempts to reach developmentally disabled people who might have fallen through the cracks of the system.

"Our niche in the system is that we support people who haven't fit into other programs," Lengyel says.

The success of the program stems back to one of the first women the Campbell branch helped in 1997. The woman was 67 and had spent her life in care homes and institutions, Lengyel says, and she had never lived on her own. With the help of her support staff, Lengyel says the woman was able to live independently for the first time and participate in activities she found meaningful.

Although the organization also provides assistance with day-to-day activities like showering and remembering to take medication, Lengyel insists this is only a small part of the program's overall philosophy.

"We try to make day-to-day assistance the smallest piece," she says. "Our bigger job is to help our consumers connect to somewhere they belong, to integrate them into the local community so they can enjoy feeling like they are a part of something."

One way the Jay Nolan program tries to connect its clients to the local community is by finding them employment. Working with the county program In-Home Support Services and the nonprofit San Andreas Regional Center, the organization places clients with employers. Lengyel says McDonald's and movie theaters are two places of employment that have been the biggest supporters of the program.

But some of the people who Jay Nolan supports take matters into their own hands. Lengyel says one enterprising client discovered he enjoyed wrapping things, and he now runs his own business, Francisco Enterprises, out of his home.

Another client, David Langager, earns about $10.50 an hour as a housecleaner. When asked why he chose the cleaning profession, Langager answers bluntly, "I do it for the money."

Gainful employment, however, is not the only way in which the staff at Jay Nolan attempts to foster independence and self-esteem in clients. The staff tries to discover the individual preferences of each of its clients and to find outlets for their gifts and interests.

"We take people out and try different things to see what people enjoy and what they are good at," Lengyel says. "We take them bowling, for instance, to classes or the beach. A lot of people volunteer. They know they are being supported by the system and want to give back to the community."

Langager, for instance, volunteers every Wednesday at the San Jose Sacred Heart Food Bank, where he cleans and separates clothing.

"He gets upset when he has to miss his job," Lengyel says. "He likes to be busy and to do something valuable. It's important for all of us to feel like we are contributing somehow."

Jay Nolan's emphasis on developing and nurturing individuality is also reflected in the history of its Campbell branch. Lengyel, who initially worked at a Jay Nolan center in Los Angeles, came to Campbell in 1997 when the organization asked her to establish a Santa Clara County program. At the time she was the only Campbell employee. She didn't even have an office.

"I was the only employee here for about four months. Rents were astronomical, so I started off in a closet. My mom was the unofficial secretary, and my family helped out. My family was wonderful," she says. "And free," she adds, laughing.

A manager at the 51 E. Campbell Ave. offices was so impressed with Jay Nolan's services, Lengyel says, that she gave the program an office below market rates. Today, the Campbell center has blossomed into an organization made up of 65 paid employees and 17 clients and is looking to expand its services.

If relatives and loved ones of developmentally disabled adults believe that they know someone who might thrive in the program, Lengyel says, all they have to do is contact the San Andreas Regional Center and ask for a referral to an assisted-living program.

"We will support anyone who wants to do this," she says.

She also adds that the program is always looking for more people who want to work with the developmentally disabled. Hardly a job of the 9-to-5 variety, the profession requires someone who can tolerate stressful and emotionally tense situations, Lengyel says.

"It's a very personal job," she says. "Most people who work here agree that we don't just go home and forget about it. It's all-consuming because we are dealing with people."

But Lengyel also adds that, for people who feel called upon to work with disadvantaged people, the rewards of the job usually outweigh its downsides.

"You get to know people and build a relationship with them," she says. "You get to see people accomplish their dreams. For some people, their dream is as simple as being able to tie their shoe unassisted. For others, it's living on their own and attending church. It's fun to watch people meet their goals and take on even bigger ones."

Although Lengyel says she knew she wanted to work with developmentally disabled people, she became involved with Jay Nolan Community Services "by accident."

While working at Camio Hospital, an institution in Los Angeles that treats people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, she was also studying to get her teaching credential. As part of her studies, she took a part-time job at Jay Nolan as a job coach and "fell in love" with the program.

But her job wasn't the only aspect of Jay Nolan with which Lengyel developed a deep connection. While she was working at the Jay Nolan in Los Angeles, she met and befriended housecleaning maven Langager. Their bond was so strong that she invited him to come to Campbell with her when she relocated. They have been living together for six years.

"I couldn't imagine my life without him, and he didn't want to be in Los Angeles without me," Lengyel says. "And my house is really clean," she adds, laughing.

For Lengyel, her job is more than just a way to make money or climb the corporate ladder: "It's my life," she says.

And she adds, "I just get paid to do it."

Jay Nolan Community Services is located at 51 E. Campbell Ave. For more information about services, call 408.370.6124.