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Funding helps individuals' independence
By Sam Scott
A mock federal income tax form fills the white bulletin board in the community room of Viviente 2, an apartment complex near the San Jose-Campbell border. The blank form is a template for a tax class scheduled for later in the evening.
"We have this workshop every year," explains Patrick Vander Meer, a program manager in the complex.
Income tax preparation is one of a variety of services offered to Viviente 2 residents. Other courses include computer skills, cooking classes and money management. All are aimed at helping the residents, people with developmental disabilities, manage aspects of life they may have difficulty with.
On Feb. 29, the Sunnyvale City Council voted to distribute $525,000 of federal money to Charities Housing Development Corporation to help the group develop a complex similar to Viviente 2 in Sunnyvale. The city's funding, in conjunction with Housing and Urban Development money, funds from other cities and grants from other groups, will allow CHDC to develop Stoney Pine, a 23-unit complex on the corner of Mathilda and California avenues.
The city earlier had committed $1.2 million to the project, but increased construction costs resulted in the need for more money. CHDC officials said the federal funds will be the last financial assistance needed from the city for construction.
As with Viviente 2, Stoney Pines will allow folks with developmental disabilities to live independently. Residents, most of whom receive Social Security income, will pay 30 percent of their income to live in one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
Berkeley Burbank, a project manager for CHDC, says the site's placement makes it ideal for their purposes. Close to the mall, Caltrains and many bus routes, the complex will allow the residents increased access to work and recreation. "It's a great location," he says.
Residents in the apartments will receive similar training to those in Viviente 2. Both will be run by the same company, Community Options.
Opening Stoney Pines will make a small dent in a big problem--finding affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities. "It's a crisis," says Kris McCann, executive director of Housing Choices Coalition, an advocacy group. "They're just being priced out of this community totally."
McCann says approximately 1,500 individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism or other developmental disabilities will need housing in Santa Clara County in the next three years. The demand will grow as elderly parents become unable to continue caring for their children with disabilities. The need for housing far exceeds the supply, officials say.
For example, Vander Meer says, the last person to move into the Viviente 2 complex had been waiting for eight years. "It's horrendous," he says.
Those who don't find a place of their own often live in group homes or with their families, enjoying far less autonomy, and missing the opportunity to become more independent.
Vander Meer said that when Viviente 2 opened 12 years ago, many of the residents came from more restricted backgrounds, such as group or family homes. The responsibilities of independent living resulted in many of the residents learning to function at much higher levels. "They've grown up a lot," he says.
During the complex's first operating year, workers planned a lot of parties and activities for residents. But, officials say, they quickly cut back as residents developed independent lives.
Joe Campbell, CEO of HOPE Rehabilitation, a group that teaches job and life skills to individuals with disabilities, says, "Everyone has a right to live in a natural community setting where quality of life is more similar to that of a more typical community member."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
