Category: Supported and Independent Living Services

SLS Chilling with the Fish in Monterey

Rebecca watched the big shark swim past the thick glass of the tank. “Whoa!” she said, laughing. Each time the shark circled by, Rebecca reacted with the same joyful “Whoa!”

Rebecca visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time on a recent trip organized by the Supported Living team for program participants. The visit was a first for many other program participants, too.

Highlights of the day included petting the rays in the touch tank, watching the water flow in and out of the kelp tank and seeing how the different animals reacted to it, observing all the different kinds of fish, and of course, the sharks.

Special outings like day trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium provide unique opportunities for community integration. New situations and changes in routine can be challenging for some program participants, but provide important breaks from the everyday. Sabrina, an SLS facilitator, remarked that “this was a fantastic way for some of our clients to interact with each other in a setting that is different and interesting for them.” We will definitely be trying to set up more outings like these to help enrich our clients lives and to show them different and new things.

Most participants in the SLS program have very limited resources for activities like day trips. This past year, we were fortunate enough to receive a grant from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation to underwrite community integration outings like the trip to Monterey. Financial support from partners like the Gellert Foundation makes it possible for our program participants to lead truly full lives in the community!

SLS/ILS–Celebrating Independence

Do you remember moving out of your parent’s home for the first time? So many mixed emotions– a little apprehensive and scared, but excited and overwhelmed with joy when all your belongings were in place. When she moved out of her parents’ house at the age of 33, Ariel felt the same way.

In July we celebrate independence. Moving into a place of your own, being responsible for yourself, is one of the most fundamental kinds of independence a person can experience. Unfortunately, for many of Las Trampas program participants the road to independence is littered with challenges. Finding affordable housing is a struggle for many people in the Bay Area, but can be especially difficult for people with developmental disabilities.

  • For most Las Trampas participants, rent is higher than their monthly income.
  • The Housing Authority of Contra Costa waiting list for Section 8 housing is closed and has been closed for years. Even the waiting list for the waiting list is closed!
  • Project based low income housing units are rare in this area. The wait can be years and getting a unit is really the luck of the draw.
  • Did you know that there are minimum income requirements for Low Income and Low Low Income housing.  Sometimes our program participants receive a fixed income that is too low to even be considered Low Low Income!
  • As rents in the area increase, more and more landlords are transitioning their properties away from the Section 8 program when they become eligible to do so, resulting in even fewer options available to a person on a fixed income.

Ariel has been very fortunate that her family is able to subsidize her rent. Otherwise she would not have been able to move out of her parent’s home.  Since moving out on her own, Ariel has discovered the joys and challenges of living independently. She is really enjoying being responsible for choosing and preparing her own meals and selecting her own clothes and household items. She no longer needs her parents’ permission to go out into her community and she loves having a dog to take care of and a roommate of her choice. She is living her dream in a home of her own, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!