Washington Project Gets Local Press
Options for Supported Housing was featured in a story published by Washington-based The Daily News, highlighting the unique duplex project being completed in Kelso, WA. An excerpt is provided below and the full article can be found at http://tdn.com/news/local/kelso-duplexes-a-haven-for-disabled-adults/article_2660110d-ca87-5351-897a-3bd2925be38a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Pictured above (from left to right) are Kathy Streblo of Options for Supported Housing, Todd McCann of McCann Properties Plus, Susan Butz of Washington Housing Trust Fund, Jacob Pollowitz of N+P Property Development, Dan Baldner of Environmental Works, and Kristy Coons of Life Works.
When Gwen Dey took guardianship of Charity Purtteman as a foster child, it took “lots of love” to help her overcome years of neglect and abuse.
Like many aging parents of disabled adults, Dey worries about what will happen to Charity, who is now 31 but still has the mental capacity of a child, when she is gone.
“We have to teach her that we won’t always be around,” Dey said Thursday.
Thanks to a partnership between a housing opportunity nonprofit and a local supportive care provider, Kelso now has two new duplexes to help four disabled adults, including Charity, live safely and as independently as possible.
Options for Supported Housing, an Ohio-based nonprofit, recently built the two duplexes on Mill Street in Kelso specifically designated for low-income residents with severe developmental disabilities.
“What happens with people with developmental disabilities (is) a lot of times they’ve lived at home for years,” said Options for Supported Housing Executive Director Kathy Streblo. “When the family members begin to age and become elderly, it becomes clear they need another living arrangement.”
Supported Housing has houses in 10 other states, including 36 in Washington. It is partnering here with Life Works, which will provide around-the-clock staffing support for the four women.
