July 19, 2013 – Kehillah is the Hebrew word for “community.” It's also the name of an affordable apartment complex for adults with developmental disabilities that's expected to complete construction in August and to open in September.
The complex will be operated by Cedar Sinai Park, which provides several housing and care options, primarily for seniors (including independent and assisted living, nursing care, in-home care and adult day services, as well as affordable senior housing). The complex, which broke ground last September, will be situated near the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway in southwest Portland.
“This has really been the result of a conversation that has gone on for years” about how to best meet the housing needs of adults with developmental disabilities, said Cedar Sinai Park CEO David Fuks. “It's been a great pleasure to watch the building come out of the ground.
“We were approached by others in out community who said, 'We're concerned about this population of developmentally disabled adults who've remained in their parents' homes,” he added. “They were asking, 'As parents age, where are they going to live?'” Fuks also heard from parents of developmentally disabled adults who were concerned about where their children would live once they got old enough to move into assisted living or nursing care themselves and became unable to house or care for their children.
There are 14 units in the complex, and 25 people on the waiting list. Apartments will be offered to the first 12 applicants who pass the regulatory requirements set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which awarded Cedar Sinai Park $2,035,800 for the project, Fuks said. There will be a live-in resident manager in a separate unit who will be available to provide some assistance to residents as well.
About $1.8 million of the HUD funding was earmarked for construction costs, and residents' rent will also be subsidized by HUD funding. Applicants must meet certain income requirements to be eligible to live in the apartments.
Additional funding for the project came from the National Council of Jewish Women, private donations and grants, as well as state and city housing services.
“We're very excited that this is an opportunity that is occurring. We're delighted by the support we've gotten from the state, the city and the Obama administration,” Fuks said.
The facility will be open to adults who Fuks describes as “relatively high functioning” individuals who will require some assistance with daily living tasks, from caregivers they themselves hire, but will be able to live without a high level of care.
“I want to be clear that this is an apartment building,” Fuks said, not an assisted living facility or group home, though there will be common areas where residents can socialize and receive life skills training from staff. Fuks anticipates that most residents will be moving to the apartment complex from parents' homes and have probably received some light care through brokerages, thought there may be applicants coming from other types of living situations.
According to the state Department of Human Services, in 2011, 1,445 developmentally disabled adults were receiving brokerage services, 522 were in adult foster care, 167 were in supported living, 481 were receiving 24-hour residential services and 50 were receiving in-home comprehensive services.
Christen McCurdy can be reached at [email protected].
