The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Commission to hear plan for disabled housing

By Katherine Petersen

Karen Carpenter, 40, wants to have a home closer to her sister in Sunnyvale, in a place she can call her own.

Carpenter, who is developmentally disabled, lives in a group home in Santa Cruz and sees her sister only once a week.

Thanks to Catholic Charities, a nonprofit organization that focuses on housing issues and development, Carpenter may soon share an apartment with one or two other disabled adults. Sunnyvale's Planning Commission will vote within a month on plans for a 23-unit affordable apartment complex for developmentally disabled adults on the northeast corner of Mathilda and California avenues.

Two-bedroom apartments would rent for $800, and three-bedroom apartments would cost $1,000, Silveira said, although Catholic Charities is trying to bring these prices down.

A survey last year found 50 developmentally disabled people who were interested in affordable apartments in Sunnyvale, she added.

The Sunnyvale City Council conceptually approved the project in July and voted to pay $1.2 million of the $4 million cost, said Dyane Matas, the city's housing officer.

"This is a great location for people who don't drive," Matas said. "It's near the train, buses and, a shopping center and down the street from Hope Rehabilitation."

A nearby shopping center will offer easy access to groceries and other needs, but it could also be a source of job opportunities, said Chris Block, Catholic Charities' San Jose director.

Carpenter is not alone in her search to live more independently and be able to participate in a stable community, Block said. A large movement of developmentally disabled adults and their families has sprung up to find housing where these individuals can live with some support provided from the state.

"We're open to all housing options, but there is a great need for this type of apartment-living situation," said Susan Silveira, a consultant to the Housing Choices Coalition, a group of families of developmentally disabled people and service organizations with a mailing list of more than 400 names.

"Developmentally disabled folks are living longer than they used to and need sustainable housing options," Block said.

Many people like Carpenter could live on their own with only limited assistance. Carpenter might need help remembering to take her glaucoma medication and aid with her finances, said her sister, Lisa Saubolle.

"She can get herself ready for work and knows how to do her laundry, but she has a hard time understanding money and time, so she would need someone to check in," Saubolle said. "For me, it would be wonderful to have her close by so I could spend more time with her. We're very close."

Saubolle could not find suitable housing for Carpenter on this side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, she said. Her sister has always said she wants a room of her own for more privacy, which is difficult in a group home, she added.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 15, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.