It’s summer in Chelan, and that means it is even busier and lots of fun! We went go karting last week, have the monthly Birthday Party for folks with Special Needs with Brave Warrior Project, bowl on Thursday nights and have lots of outside projects!
It really is the happiest place on earth to live!!!
The Brave Warrior Project is beginning their Adult Enrichment Program in Chelan starting October 17th.
From BWP: “As of now, with our staff schedules, we will be offering Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am-12pm! We have hired one staff for the program and I will be helping out as well! In the future, with more staff and more participant growth we can add more days and afternoons!”
The programs will be offered at the Brave Warrior location adjacent to Ridgeview Place.
If you are interested, simply contact the Brave Warrior Project:
info@thebravewarriorproject.com
P.O. Box 3221
Wenatchee, WA
98807
Phone Number 509-888-0902
While the Lake Chelan Valley is beautiful, it has not been well served with services for families who have members with special needs.
We are working with the Brave Warrior Project to change that. This fall, day programs and transition programs for adults with Special Needs are planned to be available in Chelan! Stay tuned…
The recent outbreaks are serving as reminders of lots of things, some good and some frustrating. I haven’t been posting much though since we had pretty much slowed down working with families on getting involved in Ridgeview Place. But, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy.
We have been working on the business at Ridgeview, Lakeline LLC, which has been thriving during the pandemic. E-commerce, as business model turns out to be perfect for a pandemic. That said, there have been supply chain challenges that have limited the growth the last 18 months.
We have been having fun too. There have been concerts in parks, work, heavy equipment operation, Kokanee fishing, volunteer work, and even attended a fair. We will have to see how it looks moving forward regarding what fun events we participate in.
Since the spring, we have been able to meet with a few families and are scheduled to have an additional resident moving in shortly. We are so pleased with our new resident and his family! They are fabulous.
We have been adaptable, reasonably cautious and kept everyone healthy during the pandemic so far.
We’re still out here living a great life. I haven’t been beating the bushes, but do welcome your questions and inquiries.
Creation of the perpetual housing machine for family members who need support to be successful in everyday life is a tremendous concern for most parents of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). One of the things we most like about the Shared Living model is it can be setup in a customized fashion to meet an individual’s needs.
Furthermore, the resident/consumer controls the home and service providers are separate. The service providers may change, but the residents remain in the home.
Retirement and estate planning when you are a family with a child with special needs is a little different. Our friend Frank described it really well. Frank said that it isn’t just about figuring out how to not run out of money during your life. When you have one of these kiddos, you have to figure out how to build a perpetual motion machine that will function for as long as it needs to after you’re gone and provide for, protect and care for your child.
How much that might take financially is really a huge unknown, and is also probably a pretty large number. And, if you move beyond the finances you have to have people involved who would have the concern and follow-up that you yourself would have if you could be around for your child’s whole life.
That second part is what we’re building now at Ridgeview. We have a structure to work through the financial issues that doesn’t rely on government or other programs. It’s about the best shot at a financial perpetual motion machine that we can come up with. Even that relies on having skilled and caring people making decisions to keep it moving.
That’s where the tribe comes in. We are currently spending all the time we can with the other families who are serious about Ridgeview. When our kids move in, which should begin in 2019, they will already be good friends with lots of great shared experiences. I know my son is getting excited about it.
As part of that, the group of parents and the families involved are also becoming good friends. This is a project that will span generations, so we are taking the opportunities as they come to all get to know and be comfortable that we have similar visions of what we want to see happen at Ridgeview. We are, after all, the team tasked to make it happen. That team, as we spend time at it, really becomes a tribe when it come to our kids at Ridgeview. The siblings and other extended family of the residents will probably be involved at some point so it is great if they’re not strangers and best if they’re friends.
Already this tribe building is working to expand the horizons of our kids as they get together and we do things socially they wouldn’t have done on their own. Recently, we’ve toured the Rocky Reach dam, ridden go-karts, gone bowling a few times and visited the Hydroplane museum. And, we’re getting some folks together for the unique way the town of Chelan celebrates Halloween.
It takes time to build a tribe, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good time! A strong tribe is a big part of the perpetual motion machine we are putting together. If it sounds like fun, we do still have at least one spot open….
We are now operating the vocational part of the project in the shop building, have hired a house parent, irrigation for the vineyard is in place and here are the latest photos of the home:
The home at Ridgeview Place in Chelan is something special. It is far beyond a “basic” home. It is a luxurious, warm and beautiful place to be for anybody, but particularly for adults with special needs. It is set on almost 3 1/2 acres of property that is just a 15 minute walk into downtown Chelan. The views are spectacular.
The main floor is over 4600 square feet. It has a “great room” type of living space with a kitchen, living and dining area that is open and captures the views. The great room also has a dramatic fireplace and opens to covered outdoor living spaces as well.
The large kitchen has slab countertops, commercial type of appliances, a spacious island and double dishwashers. A Costco sized pantry space with a second refrigerator and freezer is right off the kitchen.
A raised floor theater room with surround sound is also included. Each resident room is large, with room for a bed of choice, desk and additional chairs. There is a walk-in closet and private bathroom for every resident as well.
The laundry room has two sets of washers and dryers as well as a wash-tub and plenty of work space.
The main floor includes a powder room convenient to the great room and kitchen and a carefully located care-givers’ quarters with its own sitting room, living room, bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom and covered deck.
The lower floor includes a fitness room, 6 heated storage spaces, an additional laundry center, bathroom and two additional rooms for visiting families, guests, interns or caregivers space.