A crowd filled Bridge21’s newly finished house in Silver Summit last week as the nonprofit showed off what could potentially be the first of several homes for neurodiverse adults.
The Park City-based housing nonprofit, which seeks to bridge the gap of institutional support for people who have autism, ADHD and other learning differences that tends to widen once an individual turns 21, designed the house to be accessible and friendly for its tenants. Smart appliances, easy-to-use security systems, calm rooms and automatic water shutoffs are the kinds of accommodations that will make this house in Silver Creek a home for the four women moving in.
The four-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse — one of the first builds on the block — is brightly lit with natural light. While the noise-insulated bedrooms are left for the tenants to furnish, the common spaces are decorated with a light, earthy palette and springtime pinks and purples, with furniture and tchotchkes from local thrift stores. Paintings from the nonprofit’s board members hang on the walls. There’s a full kitchen, a fireplace, a couch and chairs, a dining room, a game room downstairs and a calm room upstairs.
The build ultimately came in on time, but it was touch and go there for a bit, according to Executive Director Stephanie Polukoff, a pediatric occupational therapist who worked for the Park City School District for 17 years.
“I’ve been kind of rushed for the last two weeks to move everything in, get everything organized, get my internet, get my security, get all the things going,” she said.
It’s been a years-long road for the nonprofit, which started in 2020. After conducting market analysis for the home’s design, raising funds, building the home and taking tenant applications earlier this year, the real work is just beginning.
“We want to make sure they’re safe and successful living independently,” Polukoff said. “And most of these girls have not lived on their own.”
They had each resident do an occupational therapy evaluation to identify strengths and weaknesses and found this group of young women had similar needs.
Polukoff said they specifically chose tenants with mild to moderate support needs for the first home because the nonprofit isn’t necessarily set up to do 24/7 support. That could be different with future homes, but for the new build, they wanted residents who had the capacity to be safe on their own with needs for some additional support here and there to help them establish themselves.
Meredith Powell, Bridge21’s recreational therapist, will coordinate with High Valley Transit to help residents create transportation plans. They’ve arranged for safety trainings with the fire and police departments. There will be family dinner nights with community members on Wednesdays when residents can learn new recipes. Residents can help out in the nonprofit’s offsite garden and other community programs, too.
The residents will also have two 30-day trial periods to make sure the living situation is a good fit for them, something Bridge21 decided on to help ease the weight of commitment and to give all parties an out if it’s not a good fit, Polukoff said.
“If everybody feels good about it and the situation is working, after the 60 days, they can sign a six-month or 12-month lease, whatever they want,” Polukoff said. “I just think it’s good that we meet each other, that everybody gets along and they feel comfortable here.”
Polukoff added she was a little surprised that they mostly received applications for the home from women.
“I thought it would probably be a boy house, because generally there are more boys with autism or with a developmental disability,” she said. “And then I thought about it, and I went, ‘Well, girls do tend to develop a little quicker and feel like they want to be a little more independent, maybe, than a younger, 20-something-year-old boy.’ So maybe that’s the difference, I’m not sure, but it was a little bit surprising to me.”
It was hard to say no to some of the applicants, Polukoff said.
“I feel like there’s some people that could really use the help,” she said. “And since I’ve set this up, I’ve gotten more phone calls and emails about people that would like to be here or like the idea and potentially would like to be considered for the next house. But again, I think we just need to prove ourselves, make it successful.”
The home is hopefully the first of more. A lot comes down to funding, which Polukoff said so far has largely been from private donations. The success of this home could demonstrate the concept’s viability and snowball.
“I will be grant writing this summer, and we’ll be doing a fundraiser in September, our first-ever fundraiser, actually,” Polukoff said.
Additionally, they’re also bringing on an occupational therapist intern who could help with documenting the program’s results.
Anyone interested in learning more about Bridge21, volunteer opportunities or resources about housing for neurodiverse people can visit bridge21parkcity.com.
