Partners in a new affordable housing apartment complex aimed at providing better accommodations for adults with special needs are asking the public for help.
The nonprofits, Haven for Special People and Couleecap, are launching the public phase of a $4.2 million capital campaign against the $23.5 million total cost of the project.
“Haven on Main is a unique solution for our area that goes beyond housing,” said Couleecap Executive Director Hetti Brown. “It promotes a community where all people can thrive in an accessible and affordable way.”
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Michael and Brandy Rea are lead donors to the project, having given $1 million through their family foundation. Brandy Rea said having a son living with autism gives her a new perspective on the importance of inclusive housing.
“[Our son] Brody, like every individual, has purpose and deserves a meaningful purpose for their life,” she said. “I think we’ve always believed that, even though he has obstacles, he can achieve great things just like all people can.”
The property is being developed by the Gerrard Corporation. Once completed, The Haven on Main will be owned and run by Couleecap, which has put measures in place to ensure its nonprofit status in perpetuity. Construction is slated to begin in the fall.
Brown spoke with WPR’s Ezra Wall on “Morning Edition.”
The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Ezra Wall: What is the partners’ final vision for this project?
Hetti Brown: It’s so important. Actually, from day one when we were planning this project, we said we wanted this to be a community within a community. That is how we’ve designed the project.
And not just in the mix of apartments and income levels, but the whole first floor of the building — we have a gymnasium and a fitness area. We have community rooms with community kitchens. We have a library, we have spaces where people can socialize, and Haven for Special People and Couleecap will have offices in the building, so we can promote engagement with residents.
EW: There will be 70 units in the building, half of which will be dedicated to adults with some kind of special needs. What does that mean?
HB: This is not an assisted living facility. It’s not a group home. These are apartments where people with disabilities can live independently, but in a safe and supportive environment.
And so people moving in will bring in their own resources, much like they do now when they’re living at home with their parents, for example. So many of the parents in the Haven for Special People group — their adult children live at home with them, and then caregivers will come in and rotate in and out of the home as provided, say, by a managed care organization.
Well, that will happen at Haven on Main, as well. They’ll each have their own apartments, and then their caregivers will come in and provide those services. This is based on a model in New Glarus called Prairie Haus, where a local group of parents of adults with disabilities — they’re called Home of Our Own — did the same thing. They built Prairie Haus and have been operating it now for several years with great success.
