Big things are happening on the Oregon Coast!
Sammy’s Place, a 501c3 non-profit organization serving Clatsop, Tillamook, and Lincoln Counties is excited to announce that it was recently awarded $744,000 from the Fairview Trust to bring affordable homeownership opportunities to people of all abilities living along the Oregon Coast.
Funds from the Fairview Trust will help Sammy’s Place (SP) to develop 3-acres of land in Nehalem, OR into a universally designed housing community that includes some units for people with intellectual and development disabilities (I/DD). This project provides the opportunity for everyone to live independently, and in community. These funds will help to cover the pre-development, planning, and design phases of the project.
Sammy’s Place is proud to be supported by the Fairview Trust. The Fairview Trust was formed after the closure of the Fairview Training Center, a state-run institution for individuals with I/DD, as the next step in providing a better way for people with I/DD to live and thrive in their communities. The Fairview Trust is dedicated to creating 250 new, integrated, affordable and accessible housing units in Oregon by the end of 2028.
With the mission to create living, working, and respite choices, inspired by nature, working with people with I/DD and those who share their journey, SP shares the Fairview Trust’s drive to provide more housing choices to people of all abilities and all incomes. As a group of individuals, family members, caregivers, and community members, SP believes everyone should have access to the possibility to dream and have those dreams fulfilled, including people with I/DD.
A new name, the same mission – Thompson Springs
SP is also thrilled to announce the new name for the community housing project — Thompson Springs. “The name Thompson Springs honors the history and nature of this property,” explains Julie Chick, SP Executive Director. “The Thompson name has a long history in Nehalem which connects us to our community, and the naturally occurring springs on this property remind us of our connection to the land and to nature. The name Thompson Springs is a perfect fit for our commitment to community and nature. In many ways, this project is all about environment, the environment we live in together as a community; the environment that sustains us, and access to these environments.” In September of 2022, the local Native American tribe, the Clatsop-Nehalems, performed a traditional land blessing and celebrated the completion of property clean up.
The work at Thompson Springs to date has included an extensive brownfield clean up led by the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Also, multiple surveys have been completed such as geotechnical study, wetlands delineation, and soil sampling all giving the thumbs up to create a space that embraces the natural beauty of the property and neighborhood while offering housing that is universally designed to accommodate a broad variety of homeowners.
The Thompson Springs project recognizes that we all need and deserve a place to call home. Unfortunately, the housing situation on the Oregon Coast is dire and too few of our local residents are able to find affordable homeownership opportunities. The situation is even worse for our local residents with intellectual and development disabilities. “Too often people with IDD struggle to be included in housing options and homeownership is rare,” says Leah Halstead, SP Board Chair who brings decades of affordable housing expertise in the Northwest to the project. The region’s current regulated affordable housing stock is in high demand with short supply and does not prioritize individuals with I/DD, sites the Vancouver, WA based Kuni Foundation’s report, “Housing Needs for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”. (EcoNorthwest 2020 https://www.kunifoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ECONorthwestStudy.pdf)
The grant funds from the Fairview Trust will jumpstart this phase of the project to create unique, limited equity homeownership that is affordable; some units will be specifically for people with I/DD and some for those without disabilities for a true integrated setting.
Universal Design on the Oregon Coast
The vision for this project is a community where people of all abilities – including people with intellectual and development disabilities – can live together in a community that is built with the principles of universal design. The goal of universal design is to be intentional about envisioning and developing spaces that are universally accessible. Universal access is defined as having the supports or accommodations needed that would allow any individual to participate and enjoy a place, product, service, or role independently.
This project will be the first of its kind on the Oregon Coast, but it will not be the last. Sammy’s Place believes that this project will be a step towards normalizing universal design for all new housing and public projects on the Oregon Coast and throughout rural Oregon. “This is model project,” declares Joe Wykowski, SP Housing Committee member and the founder of Community Vision. “This project will be a proof of concept that will show the Oregon Coast and all of Oregon how Universal Design and making spaces universally accessible is not an accommodation to a certain group, but a best practice in building and design that enhances our public spaces, creates a stronger sense of community, and makes our communities more livable for everyone.”
Here’s more about universal design and access from Keith Jones, International Disability Rights/Social Justice Activist from his visit last year on the Oregon Coast:
Sammy’s Place is advancing these projects with the help of a talented team, including Jones Architecture, Owen Gabbert, LLC and Jigsaw Consulting. The generous support and grants from Business Oregon, Oregon DEQ, Environmental Protection Agency, the Fairview Trust, Kuni Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Collins Foundation and the many local families, individuals, and volunteers who continue to provide the funding and energy to fulfill this vision.
To learn more about Sammy’s Place and to get involved, visit https://sammysplace.info/
To learn more about the Fairview Trust, visit https://fairviewtrust.org/
And to learn more about the 7 Principles of Universal Design, visit the Center for Excellence in Universal Design and the National Disability Authority website https://universaldesign.ie/about-universal-design/the-7-principles.
About Sammy’s Place & Oregon COAAST Network: Sammy’s Place is a non-profit organization serving Oregon’s north coast based in Nehalem, OR. We envision a welcoming coastal region where everybody has what they need to fully participate and thrive in their community of choice, especially for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). This drives us to create new opportunities through the Oregon COAAST Network. We are currently doing this work through three interconnected strategies: Elevating the voices of people and families experiencing I/DD through our Family Network and peer support services; Advancing accessibility through a community housing development model that highlights concepts of universal design and living in community; and creating a sustainable organization as a long-term resource for the Coast through strategic planning and sound financial stewardship.