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.

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Peace House, along with Maker Union, Bridge 21, and the National Ability Center, on Thursday will host an empowerment fair focused on addressing the safety needs of the disabled and neurodiverse community.

The event will be held at Maker Union, located at 1912 Sidewinder Dr. from 4-6 p.m.

Held during March, which is recognized as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, the event highlights the importance of well-being, safety and healthy relationships for individuals with disabilities.

“This month reminds us that individuals with developmental disabilities are valuable members of our communities and deserve full participation in all aspects of life, including education, employment, recreation and civic engagement,” says the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities.

The meeting will feature a panel discussion hosting two representatives from the Utah Parent Center, an organization based in Salt Lake City that supports children, youth and young adults with disabilities and special health-care needs.

These guests specialize in teaching healthy relationships and lead a multi-week course covering various related topics, said Erin Meotell, prevention coordinator at Peace House.

Additionally, a representative from Adult Protective Services will address questions regarding mandatory reporting, Meotell said, emphasizing that all individuals over the age of 18 are mandatory reporters, including in cases involving vulnerable adults and the elderly. 

The panel is also expected to include a representative from the Park City Police Department, along with other experts in public safety and accessibility, such as those in emergency response and transportation services.

A social time with local police and fire department personnel is scheduled to give attendees the chance to interact and become familiar with these first responders. 

“We want to make sure that this community knows that if they need help, they know the best way to contact these organizations and know how to keep themselves safe,” she said.

Individuals with disabilities experience higher rates of violence compared to those without disabilities, said Meottel. This violence can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological, and at the same time these people often have far less knowledge on reporting these types of crimes. 

“Our mission at Peace House is to prevent violence and interpersonal violence, and we strive to ensure our outreach includes the entire community,” she said, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the neurodiverse community is aware of how to seek help, connect with relevant organizations, and take steps to keep themselves safe.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe and be an advocate for their own safety. In their homes, in their communities where they work, where they go to school,” said Meottel. “I think sometimes it can be hard to stand up for yourself or to speak out if you don’t know how to do that or where to go to do that.”

No registration is required, and the event is open to anyone, especially those within the neurodiverse community, as well as individuals who work with this population and want to learn more about safety and effective ways to support and protect them.

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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.

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