Community Plan Goes Into Environmental Impact Review
Following Requests for
Proposal sent out by the City of Santa Barbara, Rincon Engineering has been
chosen to conduct the Environmental Impact Review of Hillside House's Community
Plan.
The Plan calls for the
development of the 23-acres of land around Hillside House to include the phased
development of 121 residential units in 33 buildings in a multi-use,
diversified neighborhood community.
This will allow our residents to live more independently in an integrated
community, while still receiving 24-hour expert care and benefiting from all of
Hillside House's programs and group activities. The plan will also help to ensure the financial
sustainability of Hillside House over the long-term.
Most of the issues
originally raised by the city in the design of this Community Plan have already
been resolved, including issues regarding drainage and water flow through the
site and the protection and conservation of Arroyo Burro Creek, which was a
real concern both for Hillside House and for our neighbors. Vegetated swales and a bio detention basin will help to direct
water to flow where desired and protect the creek from rain water contaminated
by vehicles.
The Environmental Impact Review will analyze potential traffic impacts associated with the project. This review may take up to six
months to complete a draft report that will be available for public review. Once the report is finalized the project will be reviewed by the City Planning Commission and ultimately the City Council. At
that time we will really need your support to attend city meetings and also
send in comments in favor of the Community Plan, which could make such a huge
difference in the lives of our residents. We will keep you posted.
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Welcome Michael and Charlie!
Two new residents have recently joined the Hillside House community. We are delighted to welcome Michael, who moved here on December 29. Michael is 56 years old, a very social person and is often found making others laugh and cheering them up. He enjoys the other residents and the staff and has a contagious smile. He is fond of Elvis, Chuck Berry, the Beatles and other music from that time, and will happily sing Elvis songs into an imaginary microphone. He also loves football. He is attending the Genesis day program.
Charlie joined us on January 20. He is 43 years old and a very sociable, easy-going person. He loves to rock out to Richard Simmons' "Sweating to the Oldies," enjoys our weekly karaoke nights, is a fan of parties, and also loves to paint. We are working on getting him into a day program, the Hearts Adaptive Riding program and a bocci ball program at the local parks, as he is quite independent and enjoys many things.
We look forward to continuing to get to know Charlie and Michael.
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 Save the Date!
On Thursday, May 20, Hillside House will present our 7th Annual Women of Purpose Benefit Luncheon, featuring Roger Crawford, inspirational speaker, author and former tennis champion.
Sports Illustrated calls Roger one of the most accomplished physically challenged athletes in the world, and he is considered a leader in developing human potential. Roger was born with all four limbs severely impaired, yet went on to become a tennis champion. His warm and humorous style and positive message have empowered more than 3,000 audiences. He has been interviewed on CNBC, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, and in USA Today. For his extraordinary achievements, he has been inducted into the National Hall of Fame for people with disabilities, joining fellow honorees such as Christopher Reeve and Helen Keller.
For more about this wonderful opportunity to hear Roger's inspiring message and contribute to the well-being of our 59 residents, click here. Roger's story is truly remarkable.
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Professional Photographers Take Portraits at Hillside House
Father and son team, Andrew and Bill Schoneberger, of Backyard Studios and Clear Concepts respectively, participated with over 8,300 other photographers around the world in the Help-Project. Conceived by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, the Help-Project's vision was to send photographers out in their communities on or around December 12, 2009 to photograph people who might never have had a professional portrait made of them. Cowart's vision was for the photographers to help people like the homeless, elderly, people in hospitals and shelters, orphans, Army veterans and others to feel beautiful, special and loved through the medium of photography. The photographers all volunteered their time and materials, engaged with their subjects in the process of making and selecting the photos, and then gifted beautiful, finished portraits to the people they photographed.
Andrew and Bill Shoneberger chose Hillside House and Transition House to partner with to find the portrait subjects. One Saturday in December, with the help of Meghan Lehman, Brian Schoneberger, Marion Schoneberger and Glen Fabian, they visited Hillside House and photographed some of our residents. The results are amazing, truly stunning photographs that speak volumes. And the residents loved the attention. "The people we photographed were really thrilled and grateful to be a part of it, and so were we. The looks on faces when we handed the individuals at Hillside House and the families at Transition House a framed portrait was priceless - something we'll always remember," says Andrew.
Client Services Director Gail Metzger agrees, "I think the Help-Portrait idea was incredible, and am so happy that Hillside House and so many of our residents got to be a part of it. Many wanted to wrap up their pictures as holiday presents for their families, and one of our residents takes his with him everywhere he goes."
Moved and inspired by the fantastic international response, the Help-Portrait team has announced that December 4, 2010 will be the next Help-Portrait day worldwide. More information can be found at www.help-portrait.com. For more information about Andrew and Bill, visit www.backyard.bz and www.clearcon.biz
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High School Students Paint a Mural for Hillside House
While high school student
Rachel Venturino was volunteering at Hillside House, she noticed the lovely
undersea mural in one of the residents' bedrooms. Inspired, she told Susan Bradford, Recreation Therapist,
that she would like to paint a mural for another bedroom. Susan and Gail Metzger, Director of
Client Services, decided that a large, bare wall in a bedroom that was being
prepared for two new residents would be perfect. They suggested a landscape theme.
Rachel recruited three
other students from San Marcos High School to help with the project: Alexis
Ireland, Laura Masho and Melissa Georgi.
Working together, the students created a beautiful mural on the wall in four hours.
Now new residents, Charlie and Michael, as well as
their roommates Brian and Dylan, who moved from another bedroom, are enjoying
their scenic, colorful room.
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