Group homes built in the 1980s and 90s in Glenwood Springs are in need of repairs.
Single pane windows allow cold air to get in and heat to escape, raising energy costs for residents.
Glenwood Springs-based nonprofit Mountain Valley Developmental Services just received a grant to jumpstart home renovations for its clients with developmental disabilities.
Maura Masters is the nonprofit’s Development Director.
She spoke with Aspen Public Radio’s Regan Mertz about the organization’s 50-year history and new initiatives the nonprofit will spearhead in the new year.
The conversation below has been edited for clarity and length.
Regan Mertz: When the organization started almost 50 years ago, there was a need. There weren't really any other services like this in the valley, would you say?
And has that sort of shifted over the last 50 years?
Maura Masters: I would say that, yeah, absolutely. There are a handful of services now. The difference between us and other health and human service organizations that work with people with disabilities is that we provide services and programs throughout their lives. So, from birth really through school, into adulthood, and eventually passing on.
So, we have adult service programs. We have three programs within that, and one is residential, the other is supported employment, and the third is enrichment program. So, with residential, we actually own 10 group homes in Garfield County and other apartments. All of our adult participants in our group homes and other housing are supported pretty much 24/7.
Mertz: I'm interested to ask about this grant that you guys just received.
Masters: [We’re] about to kick off next year a new program called Cozy Home Project. And that's possible because we just received a $25,000 community grant from Black Hills Energy. So, we were talking before about our group homes. Well, some of them are pretty old. They're buildings, the 70s and 80s and 90s split levels, that kind of thing.
And so, we were working with CLEER to do energy efficiency audits, and it was very obvious that one of our homes, Oakhurst, needed some new windows. They were single-pane windows. So, the Black Hills Energy grant will buy new windows for Oakhurst house.
Mertz: Okay.
Masters: Yeah, and we're working with Elmore Glass. There trying to keep it as local as possible. Yeah, I guess they're going to put them in in January. Holy cow.
Mertz: Oh, wow, that's coming up.
Masters: I know. It's cold. And so, the Cozy Home Project is to just sort of take a look at each of the properties and look at their energy efficiency and [check] list what needs to be done physically but also esthetically. Do we need a coat of paint? Do we need maybe some new flooring? Do we need new appliances?
Of course, we maintain all of that. We maintain all of the houses. But, you know, sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand, so we're partnering with the Rotary Club and probably Elks Lodge and Defiance Thrift Store and others to just create a nice environment for our participants. Not that they don't have one already, but it's nice to have a little face lift every once in a while.
Mertz: And in the valley where cost of living is increasing — construction prices have increased in the past couple of years — is that a problem that you are overcoming?
Masters: Well, so I can use the example of our apartments, because people living there use their social security and their Medicaid to pay to live there. We charge only $750 a month rent, and that includes rent, board, food, utilities, internet — all that kind of services, plus a [direct support professional] who supports the person who's living there, right? We pay for all that stuff, and we try to keep the rent low so they're affordable. I think I said it was $750, actually, it's $797 a month right now.
Mertz: Okay, so did that increase?
Masters: Yeah, just increased a little bit.
Mertz: All of these approaches that you've talked about — the three main programs that you all run — why have you kept on with this approach? Was this sort of the approach that was established 50 years ago? Is this something that has been proven to be beneficial in our community or a community elsewhere?
Masters: Well, it's evolved into this. We've evolved into our services and programs now, and you know, based on need and based on what the clients want to do, what the participants would like to do. So, it's important that somebody has a house or roof over their head. It's important that in some places, somebody has a place to go to work and earn a wage. It's important that people get to play safely and experience joy, and so those are what our adult service programs are pretty much about.
It's not like the 1970s when people with special needs or with disabilities were institutionalized, until President Regan opened the doors and then set people out in the community. There's not a coincidence there that we were founded around the same time, and so we could help the people who needed the most — who were the most vulnerable.
Support for this Nonprofit Spotlight series comes from the Aspen Community Foundation.
