Summer House evolved in the 1970's from the vision of local families and friends who had concerns for the well-being of people with developmental disabilities. Since then the organization has grown to include two 12-bed Residential Homes, an Independent Living Program where we provide minimal support approximately 55 clients who live in their own homes, a Supported Living Services Program that provides up to 24 hour support to ten adults who live in their own homes. We also own five low-income apartments which are located on the same property as the Woodland Residential Home. These provide housing for people who want to live independently, but need help close-by.
Our staff are dedicated compassionate individuals who work from their hearts and do not just see this as a job with a paycheck. As our funding for services struggles to keep up with the rising cost of living and minimum wage increases, we are challenged to recruit and hire staff to provide quality care for our clients. Contributions allow us to provide the opportunity for professional growth opportunities like trainings that we would not otherwise be able to afford, which make working for us more enriching and attractive and help with retention of quality staff.
Donations also help us pay for high cost maintenance repairs of our properties, such as plumbing, new roof, HVAC system, fire alarm system, furniture, flooring, computers, vehicles for transportation, etc… without putting a strain on our operating costs.
The mission of Summer House, Inc. is to provide living options and support for adults with developmental disabilities that respect their individual dignity, human worth, and enhance their self-reliance, self-esteem, safety, and involvement in the local community.
Contributions we receive are funneled back into our programs and are never used to supplement the wages of our administrative staff, managers, or direct care staff. However, receiving donations and financial contributions helps us by lessening the burden of cost of other things that are necessary to provide a safe and healthy environment for our clients.
We currently have three seats open on our Board of Directors roster. We are seeking people with a connection to people with developmental disabilities or have a genuine interest in supporting our organization and can share in our mission. We would benefit greatly from enthusiastic, engaged people who have a professional field of expertise that would be helpful in directing or making decisions with regard to financial matters, fundraising and legal matters.
Currently, we have a program that operates out of a one room open office in Woodland. We would like to rent a space in Davis that could provide more space and privacy for the staff as well as a conference room to hold professional meetings and training for clients and staff.
Nearly all of our clients reside in Davis and having an office locally would provide closer contact and lessen mileage costs for reimbursement. Many of our staff also reside in Davis and do not have vehicles, so having a local office would make it easier for them to attend meetings and trainings as well.
Similar to unrestricted funds, we can always benefit from donations that relieve the financial burden of high ticket items. Restricted funds can be designated for home improvement of our residential homes, art and craft supplies for our clients, new furniture, special events, and computer equipment.
We make every effort to keep our computer costs down by purchasing refurbished computers and utilizing grants for software. There are always improvements to be made to make our computers more efficient. We do not have an IT person on staff and contract with someone as needed, which is an added expense.
We would like to implement tablets for our supervisors for documentation purposes when working in individual client homes. Currently all notes are handwritten and have to be transferred to the computer when they get back to the office. Tablets would make their work more accurate and efficient. Clients would benefit from having access to computers in the Residential Homes. This would be helpful for playing educational games, support with advocacy and a variety of other opportunities for communication, learning, and entertainment.
Organization name
Summer House Inc.
Tax id (EIN)
51-0138201
Mission Category
Human Services
Operating Budget
$1,000,001-$5 million
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted, Board Members, Space: Office or Other, Funding: Other, Technology
Address
206 Fifth Street