A Full Life: Dana & Cindy

“A Full Life” series is an on-going narrative throughout Lifehouse. The goal is to help the community discover the creativity, expression and confidence within each individual that Lifehouse supports.

Cindy and Dana have both been supported by Lifehouse for over 20 years. Fifteen years ago, their love story began in the hallways of a San Anselmo apartment complex that exclusively provides housing for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Since then one of their greatest bonds has been over their mutual love of art. The walls of Dana’s apartment are an ode to both of their artwork, family, friends and their life together. Many of their photos together include the early days of attending the Lifehouse Annual Awards Banquets, trips and cruises, or their time as dancers for the yearly Great Chefs and Wineries performance. The apartment feels warm, inviting, and full of joy.

Cindy and Dana are like many couples, they enjoy weekly date nights and spend holidays together. Cindy even cooks Thanksgiving dinner every year for them. Date nights are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and since Cindy lives in anapartment just the floor below its easy for them to rendevouz. They enjoy playing cards, working on the latest art project set up by their DSP Melissa, or walks around the neighborhood. While Dana is walking a little slower these days, they look for dandelions along the way or count dogs passing by when they take breaks on benches.

Cindy is known for keeping Dana positive. They are playful and tender with one another. Finding true companionship with each other has lead Cindy and Dana to create a quiet but full life together.

A Full Life: Stephanie

“A Full Life” series is an on-going narrative throughout Lifehouse. The goal is to help the community discover the creativity, expression and confidence within each individual that Lifehouse supports.

Stephanie Caires has been supported by Lifehouse for 13 years. Getting her drivers license meant freedom, independence, and feeling like an adult. This mini documentary is filmed and produced by Humans Being Media, following Stephanie as she shares her story of how she has achieved a major life goal and hopes to continue to grow with a little help from Lifehouse.

Legilative Breakfast

Advocating for the vitality of the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the people who support them.

The Legislative Breakfast was held on April 19th in collaboration with the Golden Gate Regional Center (GGRC), the Service Provider Advisory Committee (SPAC), and the AdvoCats. Over 100 people attended and notable figures included, Assemblyman Damon Connolly, Board Supervisor Katie Rice, Aide Zach Koblick de Leon, and San Rafael Council Member, Rachel Kertz. Lifehouse’s very own Director of Operations, Kate O’Connor headed up the coordination of the event, is the Facilitator to SPAC and a member of the GGRC Board-Liaison for SPAC.

The purpose of the Legislative Breakfast was to educate legislators and local officials about the Governor’s budget proposal to delay the much-needed rate increase by a year for intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) providers. The morning was full of inspired speeches from people receiving support services, direct support professionals (DSP), service providers and family members. Each one calling out the glaring disparity between the wage DSPs receive, and the complex work that they do.

Jessica Perez, a Lifehouse DSP gave a stand-out speech touching on the myriad of ways that she supports the people that she works with, the importance of supporting people with I/DD, and the stress and hard work that all too often interferes with continued employment for most DSPs. Despite all of this she shared, “I love my job! How many of us can say that? I say it again, I LOVE MY JOB! I find purpose in the work I do; this work challenges me and allows me to learn something new every day. I know my work is important and that it helps the lives of the most vulnerable in our community.”


In the State of California, the turnover rate for DSPs is around 50% with some agencies having as many as 1 in 8 DSP roles consistently vacant. Current wages do not keep up with the rising cost of living. If the State of California continues to delay the new rate model implementation will hurt not only to people with I/DD but the people who support them.

Strengthening Our Executive Team

Please welcome our new Chief Financial Officer, Brian Morrow!

Brian joined the Lifehouse leadership team earlier this month as the new CFO. He is a licensed CPA in the state of California and brings 10 years of experience in public accounting as an auditor specializing in the governmental and not-for-profit sector with expertise in servicing a wide range of clients from small rural federally qualified health clinics to large state level entities.

After gaining a breadth of knowledge for understanding control structures during his time in public accounting, he moved into the private industry starting out as the CFO & Treasurer at The Reutlinger Community, a Bay Area eldercare facility. In this role Brian worked to bring the accounting and finance process in house and helped to build control structures. After the Reutlinger, Brian found a new challenge in joining the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano as their VP of Finance. In this role he worked to enhance their internal reporting model across departments company wide.

Brian holds both a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Masters of Accounting from the University of Arizona. He also sits on the board of directors of Kokoro Assisted Living, a San Francisco elder care facility, and chairs the finance committee.

Brian lives in Castro Valley with his multi-generational family which includes his wife, two young boys and mother-in-law. Brian’s interests include writing, woodworking, and riding his motorcycle.

Human Race

Supporting our North Bay Programs

 

On Saturday May 4th, Team Lifehouse braved the rain for the Human Race in Santa Rosa to raise funds to support our Sonoma County support services. The team was a combination of Lifehouse leaders, management staff, direct support professionals, and a few people we support. Thank you Lisa, Alisha, Claudia, Euna, John, Leanne, Linda, Matthew, Nick, Peter, Sethi, Tim, and William for showing great spirt and commitment to Lifehouse!

A Gift From You Will Make a Difference

Hello Friends of Lifehouse,

As 2023 comes to an end, I reflect on how grateful we are for this beautiful community. The challenges of stabilizing our organization to ensure an unambiguous future for Lifehouse and the people we support has not been easy. The continuous shift in the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and the increased necessity for our services is demanding, but we are committed to making certain that the people we support can always count on us.

The core mission of Lifehouse consists of providing quality support services to people with I/DD in our community and doing so with great integrity. This is why Lifehouse is the #1 Bay Area Service Provider where $0.90 of every dollar raised goes directly to support programs.

A gift from you will allow people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to advance their independence, productivity, and inclusion in every aspect of society. You may not realize how much it means to Lifehouse and the individuals we serve to have your support.

No gift is too big or too small and every dollar is needed. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

I wish you all a joyous and healthy holiday season from all of us at Lifehouse.

Much love to you and yours,

 
 

Nancy Dow Moody

President & CEO

It's An Honor

27th Annual Awards Banquet

2023 marks the 27th year of the Lifehouse Awards Banquet. This event is an annual tradition at Embassy Suites in San Rafael with over 350 guests to celebrate the contributions of the Lifehouse community partners and dedicated staff who are essential to our continued success. The evening’s Master of Ceremonies was Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools Emerita. We also honored the personal achievements of the people we support. This event is a favorite among Lifehouse supporters, offering a valuable opportunity to engage with the people Lifehouse serves in an intimate setting. It has become an important tradition in connecting the community with the people who are at the heart of their work.

“As I look forward to the future of Lifehouse, I am confident that Lifehouse will continue to thrive with the support of our staff, volunteers, family, friends, community members and the Board of Directors who guide us.” Said Nancy Dow Moody, Lifehouse President and CEO. “Thank you for joining us as we celebrate with our remarkable community, 69 years of excellence in support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

Congratulations to all of the honorees!

Photos by Richard Wheeler

Photos by Peter Merts

Thank you to all of our Sponsors!

'All In' on Lifehouse

Dear Friends of Lifehouse,

My wife Erin and I have an autistic daughter, Sophia, who is 28 years old and has been supported by Lifehouse since 2017. We are incredibly grateful for the peace of mind Lifehouse has given us, knowing that Sophie will be well taken care of when we are gone.

Our son Ryan has been an incredible big brother to Sophie over the years, always sticking up for her and never allowing other kids to tease her; delivering a school assembly speech in the 8th grade about how Sophie is his hero (one of his teachers called us in tears); stepping out of the batter’s box during a high school baseball game to acknowledge her with a smile and a wave; and now enthusiastically serving as our co-conservator. When he moved to New York for work, he felt a lot of guilt over “leaving Sophie”. We told him that Lifehouse is taking care of the day-to-day, that he only needs to make the “big picture” decisions when we are gone. He comes back to visit us and Sophie several times a year and it is so heartwarming for Erin and me to see how much they love each other.

For the profound change that it has made in our lives, Erin and I are “all in” regarding our support for Lifehouse. Erin did the architecture and design for the renovation of Lifehouse’s headquarters building pro bono. I serve on the Board of Directors. We give generously, recognizing what we would have to spend to support Sophie without Lifehouse.

The state funding through the various Regional Centers covers approximately 90% of Lifehouse’s costs. The remaining 10% comes from the generosity of families and friends. As Lifehouse has grown to serve more people, this funding gap has grown to over $2.2m. Lifehouse needs your generous support more than ever in order to maintain a balanced budget.

Please join Erin and me in giving generously to sustain Lifehouse. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Doug Clough

Lifehouse Parent & Board Chair