Dear Treasure House Supporters,

It’s our birthday!

I am pleased to share that Treasure House Phoenix has positively impacted the lives of people with disabilities and their families for four years! While every effort to support this population is absolutely significant, my experiences have confirmed that the Treasure House Phoenix model is a truly innovative leader in providing the most meaningful and beautiful life possible for residents. It’s not just the engaging grounds, well-equipped living space, and two-tiered support system of Life Coaches and Community Assistants that distinguish Treasure House Phoenix. Rather, it’s our family’s bond, can-do attitudes, and constant evolution that set our model apart, and delight me most.

A Family That
Sticks Together

Treasure House is an inclusive community. An active family that is bonded. A home that provides a sense of belonging and togetherness. With 29 residents living with a broad spectrum of diagnoses, our home is constantly buzzing with living, learning, exploring, and socializing. The group size has been essential, affording us the ability to not operate as an institution, and providing a plethora of interesting, new activities every day. Each resident contributes a unique energy to the group dynamic, and when they’re away from Treasure House for any reason, their absence is felt by all. Each resident’s spirit, voice and mind are special and highly valued by peers and staff. Our recent Celebrity Game Night Tailgate was quite the party, and was overwhelming for some. I saw a resident check on another at their apartment to make sure they were doing okay. At the same event, I heard a male resident with autism tell a female resident with down syndrome how pretty she looked. I witnessed two residents share a long embrace before hitting the dance floor for line dancing. I noticed a resident making a plate of food for another resident. The amount of love and care here is magical, and is something that might not be achieved quite as well if Treasure House were to exclude diagnoses or increase or decrease group size.

A Team of ‘Doers’ on Their Toes

Firmly establishing a home, hiring professional staff, and developing unique programs and services to support residents and families is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s expected for resident needs to change as they gain skills and experiences, and staff remain nimble and willing to learn alongside them. Get a job – check! Make some friends – check! Enroll in school – check! Then, in a step away from the comfort zone and on the road to expanding the soul, Life Coaches resurface the big question: “Now what?” Each resident’s answer to this question about their own future has the potential to pose a unique set of known or unknown challenges for both the resident and staff. Both parties take the goal head on with strategic objectives and tasks. No resident is cut from the same cloth, and we will never attempt to push a single life model. Instead, Treasure House empowers residents to utilize their unique abilities and experiences in making decisions that will elevate their lives. Our team is motivated and excited when we have the opportunity to be flexible in order to support various stages of resident growth. When a resident observes an area of life that they’d like to improve upon, for example, staying engaged in conversation, we enjoy the creative opportunity to produce activities and situations that are tailored to support the individual.

An Evolving Model

In four years, Treasure House has grown in breadth and in depth. We will continue to place an emphasis on enriching the work that we do to make continuous quality improvements. Our ability to learn from all of our experiences and pivot operations to become an even more impactful active living community model has resulted in other organizations in similar spaces reaching out to us for guidance. This humbles me. The Treasure House Phoenix model will be duplicated through the Growing Home campaign, and we cannot wait to share this tried-and-true concept with cities across the country. Since 2018, Treasure House has relied on the generous support of the community in order to provide a superior living experience for residents. If you’re receiving this communication, you’ve contributed along the way, and I simply can’t thank you enough. You ‘show up’ for Treasure House, and we’re glad to have you with us.

Sincerely,