Christmas Cheer at Hillside House
 Life is busy at Hillside House over the holidays, as day programs are closed and residents are here with us throughout the day. Many special activities take place during this time. On Saturday, December 13, we hosted our annual Holiday Open House. This year's party was by far the best attended in many years. There must have been close to 75 people attending, including friends, family, residents and several former Hillside House residents..
The Santa Barbara High School Madrigal Singers regaled us with gorgeous carols. The Assistance League baked many delicious cakes, cookies and brownies for the bake sale and the Parents Group made a festive feast. Our tree was glittering with lights and decorations. And Santa visited us once again, delighting the residents with his warmth and good humor. We are thankful to all who helped us celebrate.
We were also visited last week by the students of the Providence School, a new Christian high school headed by David Winter, former President of Westmont College. David Winter was recognized for his contributions to the community a couple of years ago as a "Man of Purpose" at our annual fundraising luncheon. Thank you, David, for bringing your students to visit our residents!
All of us at Hillside House want to wish you a very happy and peaceful holiday season. Thank you for being a part of our community.
Photo above: Santa Barbara High School Madrigal Singers
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Meet Pat and Emily: New Members of Our Community
 Pat Dickson met Emily 22 years ago, when Emily was only 8 years old. At that time Pat was a Program Aide at Cornerstone House in Santa Barbara, a residence for six children with developmental disabilities. She found the work rewarding and loved getting to know the unique personalities of each resident, their likes and dislikes. When the holidays came around, Pat noticed that all the children were going home except Emily, and she offered to take Emily home with her. Over the holidays, Pat and Emily really bonded. Emily would crawl around the house, following Pat wherever she went, and she delighted Pat with her wonderful sense of humor and her sweetness. Pat began bringing Emily home with her for vacations and holidays and on many weekends, and she was with Emily every weekday while she continued working at Cornerstone House for the next seven years.
When Emily was 18, she needed someone to become her legal guardian, and Pat volunteered. When Cornerstone House moved to Ventura, Pat was commuting 130 miles round trip on weekends to bring Emily home, and she realized they needed to look for another solution. Pat had attended Hillside House's Women of Purpose fundraising luncheon and thought Hillside House could be a good fit for Emily. When a space opened up this past summer and Hillside House welcomed Emily, Pat was thrilled.
Pat says Hillside House has been "the biggest blessing for us. It's a tremendous difference." Now Pat and her husband are only ten minutes away from Emily. They love to come visit Hillside House and are enjoying getting to know each of the residents. Pat says, "I don't think Emily has ever been so happy. At Hillside House the residents talk and relate to Emily. There's always some activity going on, and the staff are so loving and caring. It's a happy place."
Photo above: Santa, Tom, Emily and Pat
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Community Partners: Alpha Resource Center
 The Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara is a non-profit organization established in 1953 that provides services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families in Santa Barbara County. They offer a wide range of resources and programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities and are an important partner to Hillside House. Thirteen of our residents attend Alpha's day program during the week. Alpha's goals are very much aligned with those of Hillside House: fostering independence and helping people realize their desires and dreams. Their approach, like ours, is individually tailored to each person's needs.
Alpha staff members meet with the Hillside House treatment team for each participating resident every six months and come up with a set of desired "outcomes," which the resident chooses. These outcomes are based on experiences or opportunities which the resident wants to have. At Alpha participants are put into a "social center" made up of friends. Together with their social center they participate in the outcomes of themselves and their friends, getting a great variety of experiences and living skills in the process. Living skills such as money management, cooking and nutrition, communication and interpersonal skills, are taught in the context of achieving the desired outcomes. So, if a client wants to go bowling, that social group will learn about setting up the appointment, handling the money and transportation, how the game works, and more.
Clients also have the opportunity to participate in the arts studio, crafts guild, music and performing arts. Each holiday season Alpha participants put on a holiday musical, which is accompanied by a sale of things which participants have made in the arts studio and in the ceramics and woodworking shops. This is a highlight of the year for many. This year's holiday show was an original musical, specially written for the participants, called Hollywood Hijinks. The participants told the author they wanted a musical about Hollywood and movie stars with show tunes in it. The result was a hilarious musical comedy about a diamond heist in Hollywood, which started at the Golden Globe Awards and ended at the Oscars. Ingelise, Pilar and Nancy had great fun being in the show. Carol and Frank had works in the art show.
Photo above: Ingelise and her brother Wayne
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