Meet Emma, a participant in our Adult Day Program since 2017. Emma has the most contagious laugh and loves to sing along to music while painting in our art room. If you play the song “Always On My Mind” by Elvis Presley, she will surely know all the words! Thank you for bringing such a warm presence into our community, Emma!
Category: Uncategorized
Meet Sekander
Meet Sekander, a participant in Las Trampas’ Adult Day Program for 8 years! Sekander’s favorite thing to do with Las Trampas’ outings class is bowling on Fridays and ordering a burger at the bowling alley. He also enjoys walking along the trail with staff member, Shereen, and getting pushed on the swings at Civic Park by Brandon. A fun fact about him is that he loves listening to the song “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles. Whenever you see Sekander on campus, he will definitely put a smile on your face!
Meet Tevin
We want to introduce our participant with a “Hollywood smile”, Tevin! Tevin has been taking the BART to Las Trampas’ Adult Day Program every day for eight years. He is very excited to have learned more about cooking with the help of Las Trampas staff. With the skills he has gained, he can now bake his favorite chocolate chip cookies on his own at home, and he even helped cook a Thanksgiving meal for his family! Outside of Las Trampas, Tevin is a part of the PCT Theater Company, where he was previously in a production of Dreamgirls, and he is currently auditioning for the production of Young Frankenstein. We are so lucky to have Tevin and his smile as a part of our program!
Meet Ariel
Meet Ariel, a participant in Las Trampas’ Adult Day Program and Supported Living Services for 16 years! Ariel has built a lot of great friendships and memories during her time at Las Trampas. Some of her favorite moments include spending time in the new garden on campus, and going on Saturday picnics with Randy.
Ariel wanted to thank some very special staff, including Betty who helps her conquer her life skills, Shereen who helps her make healthy food choices, and Brandon who is helping her learn how to begin her new paid janitorial job in our building this week.
Thank you for being such an active member of our community, Ariel!
SLS – Joe, Chrissy & Angie’s Story
Joe, Chrissy, and Angie are participants in our Supported Living Services (SLS) program. Within the past year, the three of them moved to new apartments in Pleasant Hill. As one of our managers reports, Joe, Chrissy, and Angie are doing extremely well and are very happy at their new residences. They are treated with respect and dignity, the community is friendly, and the environment is more stable, unlike where they were living prior. Joe really enjoys his awesome view of the swimming pool, Angie loves how beautiful her floors are, and Chrissy appears to be more talkative than before!
2023 Spring Appeal – Melissa’s Story
When Melissa gets on the bus to go to Las Trampas’ Day Program, she feels “joyful.” It’s a long ride from her group home in Concord, but “it’s worth it.”
As many of us enjoy loosened COVID restrictions, reopenings, and parties, our participants are equally grateful to go back to the new normal, and I am continually inspired by the resilience they have shown.
My friend Melissa, who is on the autism spectrum, has shown great resilience throughout her life. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was only five years old, and in 2017 her father died suddenly of a heart attack. Melissa’s aunt, Erin, brought her home to live with her in the Bay Area. She and Melissa are extremely close, but taking her in very unexpectedly and juggling a full-time job put Erin in a situation in which she urgently needed support. Erin feels so lucky that just a few weeks after Melissa joined Las Trampas’ waitlist, they received a call that there was an opening.
Melissa recalls that she started Las Trampas’ Adult Day Program on, “December 18th, 2017, a week before Christmas.†Erin was so happy that Melissa had a place to go and feel supported every day, while Erin worked and Melissa was grieving the death of her father. Going to Las Trampas, being with other people and in the community, learning skills like taking the bus, and continuing her development gave meaning to her days. Melissa’s resilience shone through.
Melissa had to be resilient again when COVID hit. She missed the self-esteem and pride she got from being given directions, following those directions, and earning spending money through Las Trampas’ janitorial program. Melissa also missed her Las Trampas friends and community, and asked every day when she could go back in person, 5 days a week.
Melissa was thrilled when Las Trampas brought all our participants back fulltime in October 2022. Through our new DISCOVER program, Melissa was able to select two classes to participate in “outings class” (Community Connections) and “work class” (Learning to Work). She’s so happy to get out more by “going to parks and the library” and “getting the place clean and earning money.” Melissa also loves to read cookbooks and food magazines, so she adores the new teaching kitchen, which will help her develop the cooking skills to support her to live independently one day.
As Erin states, “Las Trampas is not a babysitting program, it’s about supporting Melissa to reach her highest potential. Erin loves that the community outings let participants see parts of the world they might not be able to otherwise. “They’re also good for the community, she says, “they need to see that there are people who maybe don’t look like them, but have a lot of value to the community.
It is your support for Las Trampas that creates opportunities for our participants to reach their highest potential. You can support our friends and neighbors with disabilities by making -and doubling!- your gift today. In loving memory of Terry Haws, every gift received will be matched, up to $35,000.
Melissa wants people to know that Las Trampas is, “a good day program,” and that we need funding to, “take more outings, and buy more cleaning supplies, like Windex.” In addition to Windex, we need your help to bring on more participants, like Melissa, and restore our properties after the destructive winter storms.
We were so lucky to be able to accept Melissa into our program at such a crucial time in her life, but we now have a waitlist of 50 participants for our Adult Day Program. While our new facility provides the space we need for additional participants, we, like most direct-service nonprofits, are facing profound staffing challenges. We need additional resources for staff recruitment and retention, so we can bring more participants off our significant waitlist.
In addition to challenges with staffing, winter storms have caused significant damage to Las Trampas’ properties. The Las Trampas creek defines the sides of two of our properties. This past winter, the storms caused landslides that took out five linear feet of land and a fence at our Moraga Boulevard property, and collapsed a retention wall built to protect our main campus. These damages are costly and must be repaired.
Las Trampas has the expertise, facilities, and abiding commitment to meet this moment. However, community support is the key to making it possible for us to continue to provide the gold-standard services and safe facilities our participants deserve.
Will you make a gift to Las Trampas that is significant to you today? Your contribution will be doubled in loving memory of our founding father, Terry Haws, and will be put to good use immediately!
As always, thank you for your support,
Daniel Hogue
Executive Director
The Amazing Adventures of Amy and Jeff
Las Trampas client Jeff and his sister Amy overcame their obstacles to enjoy the summer trip of a lifetime together. Any recounts their trip and reveals how she makes every minute count for both her and her brother.
Just this past summer, my brother Jeff and I went on a couple of great trips. Jeff slept most of the way through our flight, after figuring out how to use the fold down tray for his favorite drink in the world wait for it, COFFEE!
At the beginning of our journey in the Hudson Valley, my brother, Cliff, picked up our tents at REI. From that point on, we began our camping adventure which lasted the entire 3-day, 3-night festival – something Jeff had never experienced before. The nights were dark and it was hard to find the porta potties, but Jeff and I did pretty well. He slipped and fell once though which prompted me to ask myself: would he do better with a wheel chair?
On our way to the Falcon Ridge Festival, my brother Cliff picked up his tent at REI which was at the beginning of the Hudson Valley. Jeff and I camped all through the festival for 3 days and 3 nights, something we had never had before. You can tell from the photos that he really embraced the hot days filled with trekking back and forth to camp. He was a real champ.
Public transport can be a challenge. For instance, you always have to take the stairs to the subway. Moving down the aisle of an airplane can be a challenge as well. It is getting more and more difficult to get a “handicapped” seat on a plane, so I always get a seat at the back, closest to the bathroom. Another challenge, Bathroom accidents. I always carry diaper wipes and extra underwear and pants. New York City in general is tough as it is an older city with uneven sidewalks (I’m always on the look-out for “trip factors”, stairs, doorways that have awkward steps, etc.)
I think Jeff really enjoys the fact that he doesn’t have to be in a wheelchair however, now I always request a wheelchair at the airport. When we go to Disneyland or Universal Studios we always rent a wheelchair. I have noticed that as Jeff gets older, he moves slower, so we always allow a lot of extra time. Lighter shoes help (crocs are great), easier for his paralyzed side.
We played and swam in the Atlantic Ocean on Long Beach Island and on the bay side of Cape Cod, in the Lakes in Vermont and the hotel pool. I see my brother in the water and it hits me, he can glide through the water weightlessly. What a wonderful feeling for my brother who has Cerebral Palsy.
We visited friends, drank beer together, and picked raspberries. We managed to have a family vacation, after which we all loved one other even more than before.
My advice to other families traveling with a loved one with special needs is to plan ahead. Check in often with your loved ones as new environments can be intimidating. Jeff’s social skills are lacking, he often gets very shy, looks down, that sort of thing. So, we practice “greetings, saying his name, etc.” We make sure to rest well.
Jeff was most impressed with the fact we had camped in a cow field. He said now I can check that off my bucket list.” Me too, now that I think about it.
Hats Off to a Great Event!
The suspense is over, the numbers are in, and thanks to so many of you who supported by gift or attendance our 27th Annual What’s in Our Hat! It looks like we exceeded $120,000, but numbers are still coming in, so stay tuned!
We’ve waited to send a special Thank You so that we could share this great news. As you know, these dollars are a vital link in filling the gap between operational costs and government reimbursement for services.
To the generosity of our Sponsors and Ambassadors, Hat drawing underwriter Eric Rudney, auction donors and participants, business and in-kind partners, community and staff volunteers and beloved Clipped Wings, the Hat Committee (with a special bow to the extraordinary decorations designer Pat Todd and her sidekick Dana Longyear), photographer Ian Craig,
To our entertainers Mark Shaw (Sinatra), Matt Helm (Dean Martin) and magician Alan Leeds, and the always generous-in-time-and-talent Generations in Jazz (High Five Cayford and Bob Athayde),
To Terry Haws who proposed the theme, to the gifted program creator Pamela Berding and graphic designer John Otto.
And to our dedicated Board of Directors and each and every one of you who provide support and encouragement as Las Trampas works to deliver the highest quality programs and services.
Thank You!!
Walk N’ Roll is a WOW!!
Saturday, September 27th was a perfect autumn day.
Families, friends, staff and volunteers all gathered to support Las Trampas for our 5th Annual Walk n’ Roll. The morning was filled with exercise, fun, music and a great brunch. Tim Andres of Bread and Roses shared his beautiful voice and music, event sponsor KKDV 92.1 handed out prizes, and the ever-tasty Clif Bars and Dreyer’s ice cream made the day. With the support of our generous sponsors and a myriad of wonderful volunteers, the day was as successful financially as it was a celebration of our community and friends, raising almost $10,000!
Rock N’ Roll Returns to Las Trampas
Las Trampas was one rockin’ place
two weeks ago when our Adult Day Program folks threw a Bring Back the 50’s blast! Joggers on the Lafayette Moraga trail behind campus picked up their pace to the beat of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, while inside our party goers rocked to the hot rhythms in our Dance/Exercise Room funded by Thomas J. Long Foundation. Decorations, dessert…and even a poodle skirt…gave the final touches to a memorable afternoon. Thank You for making a difference in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities!
