Lifehouse in Action

Christine Leider is the Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP) / Associate Director of the three Lifehouse Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) homes. These ICF homes are staffed to provide intensive personal care and medical support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

On May 6, 2021, Christine received a phone call from John Kalb, a Lifehouse parent whose son, Jaryd lives in the Nova House ICF in Terra Linda. He shared that after an apartment building fire, one of his son’s friends named Carlos had to find a place to live by May 12 or was at risk of being homeless.

Carlos came to Nova House on Tuesday, May 11 for an in-person visit and to complete the required intake assessment. Carlos saw his new bedroom, his friend Jaryd, met the other residents and a few staff and was thrilled at the prospect of a new home. The next day, Wednesday, May 12, Carlos officially moved into Nova House.

Recently, Christine asked Carlos what his favorite part about living at Nova House was. He responded, “My friends.” Carlos is a wonderful young man and has been an amazing addition to Nova House and the Lifehouse family!

Many thanks to Christine Leider, her staff, and the rest of the Lifehouse Team for this undertaking performed with great intention, kindness and love.

It was at this point that the Lifehouse team stepped into action. Christine worked with Carlos‘ family, their family friend Betty, the Marin Community Clinic, Golden Gate Regional Center and Housing Urban Development (HUD). Miracles happened and in less than a week, Carlos had a home.

Prior to moving into a licensed group home, there are many requirements that must be met, for example: a pre-physical exam, lab work, TB tests, lease agreements, consents, intake assessments, etc. We used all of our connections to get Carlos an appointment with his primary care doctor at Marin Community Clinic and to get the required medical records.

Find this story, community updates, and more information about Lifehouse in our Annual Report. You can sign up to receive our mailings by emailing our Office Manager Erin Loftus, mail@lifehouseagency.org.

A Full Life

Meet Sallie

Sallie has called Lifehouse home for eight years and is in the Supported Living Program (SLP). This program is perfect for her since it gives her the tools and life skills she needs to be as independent as possible.  

Sallie is full of life and loves goofing around and making people laugh. Her favorite person to get a smile out of is her boyfriend Mark. They have been together for eight years. Some of her hobbies include hiking, going to the beach, and playing table tennis. She is a total shark on the court, and she was in the winner’s circle at her most recent tournament!

When Sallie isn’t palling around with friends, she is hard at work. With the support of the local non-profit, People with Disabilities Succeeding (PDS), Sallie works two jobs. The PDS Integrated Work and Community Inclusion Program helps her maintain her job at Woodlands Market for the past 11 years, as well as a position as a crossing guard during the school year for the past seven years. She takes great pride in her work, and loves the opportunity to be out and about in her community.

Sallie has lots of goals for her life, including to live more independently and be less reliant on others by practicing the life skills she has learned from Lifehouse. She also wants people to see that she has a warm heart and a good mind. Her message to the community is that people should accept individuals with developmental disabilities and welcome them into their lives.

Recycling with Sophia

Meet Sophia- She is new to Lifehouse and is on a mission to recycle. As a part of Sophia’s specialized day program she is collecting recycling from the Lifehouse office and houses to raise money. With the proceeds, she and her roommates at Wilson House plan to have pizza parties, dinner outings or other fun activities.

Sofia enjoys recycling every step of the way, from carrying the bags, to going to the bank to cash the checks. This program is truly fulfilling for Sophia because it allows her to be active in the community. Her mission is to encourage everyone to help the environment by recycling.

Do you live in the Lifehouse community? Sophia would like to help you recycle too! She will bring a blue container to your house, and pick up the plastic recycling every other week. Once she has processed the a good amount of recycling recycled items, she will deliver the profits back to you.

Please let Olivia Vain, ovain@lifehouseagaency.org know if you would like to participate. Thank you for helping save the earth.

Life(house) with Katie

Meet Katie- She has been with Lifehouse since 2006. She started out at the Corte Madera house and has since moved to the Montecillo house in the Independent Living Service (ILS) program. She is a lover of music, art and animals.    

As a part of her goals in the ILS program, Katie volunteers one day a week at the Ben & Biscuits of Marin to stay motivated and active. Helping take care of the pups here is a great way for her to practice organizational skills and caring for her own pet. Katie’s favorite furry companion is a cat named Lily. She adopted her from the Pet Cottage in San Anselmo.

Art is a natural medium for Katie to express herself. She is constantly streaming music via Spotify to fuel her creative side when she is working on her art at San Anselmo’s Cedars Fine Art Studio. Katie has an extensive  artistic style, meticulously creating modern geometric works as well as pieces inspired by animals and nature. Her fascination for marine life often reveals itself in her paintings in the form a dolphin. Katie says the dolphin is her spirit animal and even got to swim with them once on a trip to Mexico with her family.

Supported living programs can help individuals, such as Katie, live inspired, purposeful and independent lives. Subscribe to our email list for more updates on Lifehouse residents, volunteer opportunities and how to donate.

life(house) with Stephanie

Meet Stephanie- she has been with Lifehouse for twelve years and currently lives at Montecillo House. The Independent Living Service (ILS) program is perfect for her since it helps give her the tools she needs to be as independent as possible. She loves being social and getting out and about in the community.

Stephanie is a social media maven and selfie-artist. Collecting scores of photos along the way for her next great post, she enjoys going to the beach, the movies, and local events such as the Marin County Fair. Her favorite part about social media is that it allows her to express herself while connecting to others.

Another passion of Stephanie’s is travel. Her parents both made careers in the airline industry so, you could say that she was bit by the travel bug at a young age. Many of her travels have been road trips with her family throughout the Midwest. Her next planned trip is for Florida this fall but she hopes to travel abroad someday. The enrichment of experiencing different cultures is exciting for Stephanie. She has her sights set on England, France and Italy.

When Stephanie isn’t out and about with friends or dreaming up trips, she works as a Courtesy Clerk at Safeway. One of her goals through the ILS program is to save and budget her money. She is currently saving up to buy the IPhone X to boost her social media game. Stephanie will be celebrating six years of employment this month. Congrats!

Elevating Lives through Technology

Here at Lifehouse, we strive to provide technology solutions for the people we support that will best promote their independence and communication. With a person centered thinking approach, we focus on each individuals' needs and desires, and we will stay on task until we have a setup that brings service and value to their daily lives.

Press play to see the positive impact that technology has had in the lives of the people we serve.