The Olympics Comes to Hillside House

August 2012

In This Issue

Letter from Craig Olson, Executive Director

Olympics at Hillside House and Throughout the World

Strengthening Community and Stability for Hillside House and Our Residents

Teaching Us Joy: Volunteering at Hillside House

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Dear friend,

Craig with Moselle and Ingelise

It has been a very busy and absorbing time since I became Executive Director on June 1. Even though I had already been at Hillside House as Director of Administrative Services and a member of the Leadership Team for seven years, the shift from the back office to out front is a big one in many ways.

I have so enjoyed getting to know and interact more with the residents, direct care staff and families here at Hillside House. I was recently invited to my first Resident Council meeting by Susan Bradford, our staff liaison to the council, who told me that the council had a few questions for the new Executive Director. About 25 residents showed up, and believe me they had more questions than I had in my interview for the position! They were just so curious and asked me every personal question you can imagine. It was a lot of fun and a great exchange as I got to ask them a few questions about what they hoped I could bring to Hillside.

The residents also wanted to know about developments on the Community Plan, so we talked at length about that and the many positive aspects of the coming changes. I reassured them that our plan is to keep their community together with a main facility where we will still hold our educational and recreational activities (parties are very important to them!) and provide our many therapies. I told them that they would still be living close to their friends. At the same time, living in smaller homes will give them more privacy, ability to have quiet times when desired, and more choices and independence in general.

Another fun event was the Hillside House Olympics. The residents paraded out to the back yard, complete with the Olympic flame, an ingenious paper imitation that was safe for them to pass. They proceeded to do their 26 laps around the backyard sidewalk to simulate the marathon and transfer the torch to all the participants. I got to act as the race announcer, encouraging them and their staff as they raced around the track. It was great spending a relaxed Saturday with the residents.

And I met with the Parents Group and discussed our new nursing and direct care software, the Community Plan, and program improvements that are being implemented. It was important to be able hear their thoughts and feelings, because no one knows their children's needs like a parent.

When I started in this field 30 years ago, working first at Devereux and then at Hillside House, I never imagined where I'd be today. I started in direct care at the suggestion of a friend as I imagined myself to be an aspiring novelist, but needed to keep a roof over my head. I remember the first time I was told to lead an activity playing softball and asking the head staff "How do you do that with these guys?" His response was, "Just toss them the ball and have fun, they are just like anybody else, they want to have some fun." He was right, our folks are just like everyone else, with the right amount of enthusiasm and caring everyone has some fun. That is the culture that I want to maintain and enhance at Hillside House.

Craig Olson

Executive Director

Olympics at Hillside House and Throughout the World

Sue Leads the Olympic Parade

The London summer Olympics were pretty exciting. We watched many of the games with great enthusiasm at Hillside House. To kick off the opening ceremonies, we had our own parade, complete with festooned wheelchairs and a homemade paper torch. After the parade, residents delighted in being awarded gold medals. We had spirited games of balloon volleyball with the net laid out on the floor, bean bag shotput and more, and enjoyed watching the ceremonies on TV.

Now, the Paralympics are about to begin in London. The Paralympics occur parallel to (hence, the name) the summer and winter Olympics and feature exceptional athletes with many different forms of disability from all over the world, who must qualify to compete. 20 different sports are included in this summer's Paralympics, among them archery, cycling, equestrian, judo, rowing, soccer, swimming, and wheelchair fencing. One of two forms of soccer on the Paralympic program, "5-a-side football" is played by visually impaired athletes (all of whom wear blindfolds to create equality) using a ball with a noise-making device inside.

For the first time, the Paralympics will get full-day and prime-time coverage in the U.K. on Channel 4, as well as ample coverage on networks around the globe, and it is believed this will be the most watched Paralympics ever. But not in the U.S., where NBC, which cleared its regular programming to broadcast the Olympics around the clock, is airing only a single highlights show of the Paralympics on September 16 from 2:00 - 3:30 pm.

To learn more about the Paralympics, visit www.paralympic.org

Looking Forward - Strengthening Community and Stability for Hillside House and Our Residents: Community Plan Continues to Move Forward

drawing of proposed new building

As you are surely aware, Hillside House has been involved in a lengthy, careful process to bring our Community Plan to fruition. The Plan will create a new facility and housing for our residents, while providing many benefits for the community at large as well. By creating a mixed-abilities neighborhood on our land that houses all of our residents in smaller homes, as well as providing much-needed affordable housing for the Santa Barbara community, we will be able to meet recent State mandates that now call for people with disabilities to be housed in homes of 6 or fewer beds. At the same time, we will still be able to provide the sense of community, a central facility for our programs, and the highest quality of services for our residents.

The process with the City of Santa Barbara in collaboration with our neighbors and community partners has yielded a plan that we all can be proud of. Our residents and the residents of Santa Barbara will benefit from an integrated Hillside House population while keeping our critical services centralized on our existing property where residents will have immediate access to them. This is truly a win-win where the community benefits, by not only being part of a solution that allows people with disabilities a fulfilling and independent life, but also provides affordable housing, public open space, and environmental enhancement to the area. And it helps foster the long-term sustainability of Hillside House.

Keep your eyes out for our project going before the City of Santa Barbara's Planning Commission at the end of this year. While we have a great plan for the future of Hillside House we will need all the support from our friends to make this happen.

Teaching Us Joy: Volunteering at Hillside House

by Justin and Melinda Greene Inge with dog

In the late '90s we began volunteering weekly at the Santa Barbara Humane Society. While working there we became aware of their pet therapy program, which involves taking suitable adoption animals to convalescent hospitals and treatment centers for visits with the residents. Melinda selected Hillside House.

After our initial visit to Hillside House for pet therapy we were hooked and volunteered there for five years. We loved the reactions of joy the residents expressed once we arrived with our canine companion. Thereafter, Saturday afternoons included a visit to the Humane Society to select and groom a dog followed by a visit to Hillside House. We, along with many Hillside House residents, usually had favorite pet therapy dogs that we liked to bring. However, every now and then our favorite would be adopted. We would be grateful that our past-pet therapy dog had a new home, saddened that we could no longer bring him/her, and would then go about the process of selecting our next dog. Sometimes we would bring our own bear of a dog, Tango, from home.

Visiting Hillside House was special to say the least. A tough week at work would immediately become easier once we arrived and saw the residents' smiling eager faces. Saturday afternoons would fly by. What was hard was watching them go through physical and emotional challenges. Some struggled with pain and lack of mobility. They wanted basic rights like privacy. It taught us a life lesson that having a positive attitude was a choice. With demanding careers and two little ones we are often overwhelmed and exhausted and we rely on this lesson to find joy in the smallest and simplest moments.

We remember all our friends there, but there are some regulars that we want to mention: David who always told the dog "Doggy, I love you," Ingelise who talked of her role in the Alpha Christmas plays, and Pilar who zoomed in her chair backward toward us, often one of the first in line, Suzi who shared stories of her job at Taco Bell, Greg who talked of First Ladies, particularly Nancy Reagan, Morgan who knows everything about construction vehicles, Joan who was into horses, Shane who was careful to be quiet and gentle with the pets, Nancy always with a huge smile and never skipped a visit, and all the rest of the gang.

We thank you for making a difference in the lives of the pets that visited and we thank you for teaching us about joy. You all have made a lasting impact on us.

Justin Greene is Deputy District Attorney at Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office. Melinda Greene is IT Project Manager at County of Santa Barbara.

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We want to acknowledge our Gold, Silver and Bronze Sunset Soiree sponsors once more because your generosity is making a difference in the daily lives of our residents. Thank you!

Gold Sponsors