For neurodiverse adults, life gets tougher at age 21.
That’s when the school district is no longer obliged to provide daily educational activities or vocational training to adults with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“There’s a big cliff for young adults and parents who, up until this age, have been supported by a large community of school educators,” said Stephanie Polukoff.
She’s the executive director of Bridge21, a Park City-based housing nonprofit for neruodiverse adults. As the name implies, they’re looking to bridge the gap that starts at 21, though that gap can occur or widen later, too, as parents who caretake pass away or situations just plain change.
Housing, combined with support from occupational therapists, is one way to address that gap. Neurodiverse adults over 21 can apply to be a resident at the nonprofit’s new and first home in Silver Creek, construction on which they hope will be finished by March.
They’re taking applications now through Feb. 21 for the four-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse, which sits in a patch of open space amid dense rows of housing.
A few years ago, the nonprofit hired the neuro-inclusive consultant firm Housing Solutions to conduct a market analysis — which included a survey for neurodiverse attendees to a virtual presentation that was also available to the area’s neurodiverse community for 40 days following the presentation — to determine what specific needs area neurodiverse people had for their housing.
Partly supported by that information, the home is designed to be cognitively and physically accessible. For instance, every shower is a walk-in, toilets will be set higher for easy use, and the appliances are all electric and can automatically turn off if left unattended.
In the analysis’ survey, 88% of respondents said they wanted to have things that kept them safe from strangers. The house will have doorbell cameras for security.
Seventy-two percent of respondents said they wanted technology that helps them. The house will have app-controlled, easy-to-use heating and cooling, which the nonprofit can monitor remotely in case something goes wrong. They’re also looking into working with Tovala, a meal-kit company that offers pre-prepped meals with QR codes that can be scanned to set a connected smart oven to cook the meal exactly according to its recipe.
Eighty-one percent said they wanted to have a place to hang out with friends, and one of the organization’s goals is to combat loneliness — the rate of which they say is four times higher in individuals with autism than in the general population — and its subsequent effects, such as high blood pressure and depression. There’s a living room with a TV, a game room for playing games or doing puzzles, and a quiet room will provide a comfortable space without screens or noise. Each bedroom is insulated against noise, too.
Key to the vision is setting up a life skills plan for each resident. It’s what will help Bridge21 create a programming plan for the residents, which will help address the tenants’ support needs in order to live independently, like learning how to use local transportation or appliances, and setting up a meal plan. Whatever someone needs help with learning.
“It’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all,” said Meredith Powell, one of the nonprofit’s recreational therapists who will work with residents. “It’s going to be loose in the way that our population (needs) — everyone’s different. So people might need different things.”
The house isn’t a perfect fit for everyone, either. While 21% of respondents said they desired housing to be accessible to people who use wheelchairs, the house has stairs, so residents would need to be ambulatory, Polukoff said.
The organization hopes to expand into more housing, ideally right nearby, and including that sort of physical-disability accessibility in the future isn’t totally out of the question.
A lot of it comes down to funding, which so far has largely been from private donations. Grants are hard right now, Polukoff said.
“This year is going to be our year,” she said. “Grants are hard until you get the first one, until we have a proof of concept.”
The house will demonstrate a vision that’s been cooking for years. Polukoff is a pediatric occupational therapist who worked for the Park City School District for 17 years, as well as Primary Children’s Hospital and private practices. She’s familiar with — and has worked with — many of the people who could benefit from this project.
It started five years ago in January 2020. She and four others got together to form the 501(c)(3) in order to create housing for people with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“For the last four years, five years now, we’ve been raising money and revising our goals and our vision of what this housing opportunity might look like,” Polukoff said. “It has reiterated itself, reshaped itself over the years, but at this point, we feel really solid about our plan to provide a supported living housing situation without 24/7 support — in our first house.”
Future houses could look different and run differently according to residents’ needs, which will depend on the applicant pool. It won’t be co-ed, so the pool will impact whether men or women will live there, and ideally it will house three to four people.
Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements, tour the house, perform an independent living assessment and be approved by an internal tenant review committee comprising Bridge21 staff and board members. Residents will then enter into a lease agreement as a tenant for a period of several months, probably six, and maybe 12 — they’re still deciding, and again, it will probably depend on what’s best for the residents. The lease can be renewed, too, if a resident wants to.
The eligibility requirements include being at least 21 years old and able to pay for all current and future Bridge21 costs and personal expenses: The three smaller bedrooms are planned to be $1,200 a month, and the master bedroom, $1,500. Bridge21 will also be partly furnishing the house, such as in the communal spaces.
With the deadline to apply roughly a month away, they’ve already heard from a handful of people, Polukoff said, and in the meantime they’re putting together volunteer opportunities if people would like to help with things like family dinner nights.
Anyone interested in learning more about Bridge21, volunteer opportunities or resources about housing for neurodiverse people can visit bridge21parkcity.org.
