Statements
Mission
Springboard Landings will provide adults who need a limited amount of support an option for independent living in a residential community-centered environment.
Our vision is to create unique apartments for adults with mild developmental disabilities that provide a mix of independent and communal living. The apartments will open into a common area to encourage social interaction and community, thus preventing isolation. A small number of units will be filled by support volunteers who will offer guidance and help build a community environment. This arrangement will empower our residents to live independently, enhance the quality of life for our residents, and allow the development of a permanent extended family.
Background
In June 2007, the Developmental Disabilities Task Force issued a report 'Fulfilling the Promise' which said it well: Tennesseans with developmental disabilities who live among us as neighbors, friends, relatives, and acquaintances are overlooked and neglected by our state system of programs and services for people with disabilities. It projected up to 40,000 Tennesseans have developmental disabilities, other than intellectual disability. The programs and services available to them are few when compared to the broad array of home and community-based service options offered to people with other types of disabilities. Thankfully, in 2016 the ECF Choices Program was implemented and will complement the concept of Springboard Landings.
Springboard Landings was formed by a group of concerned parents in 2009 with the goal of providing a housing option for these individuals. It started with the question: What happens when my parents are no longer available? We are building large houses with fully independent, single-resident efficiency apartments therein for our residents, with the addition of an apartment for a live-in Resident Adviser. Each community residence will include flexible space where residents can gather for casual entertainment and planned community-wide events allowing residents to share in a safe and secure community life while living as independently as possible.
Impact
Springboard Landings is working to build affordable housing for adults with mild developmental disabilities in the Bellevue Neighborhood of Nashville, TN. The organization is under contract on Coley Davis Rd and designing our dream building.
The two-story building contains 24 units. Each unit will be one bedroom and one bathroom with a small kitchen, living spaces, and a stacked washer/dryer. The apartments will surround a recreational area on both floors for dining, hanging out, playing games, and more. The communal space on the first floor will have a large kitchen and office. To enter an apartment, you must walk through the communal space. The residents with developmental disabilities (Landers) must walk through the communal space to get to their private apartments. The unique combination of private and communal spaces will empower the Landers to reach their full potential while fighting isolation. Nineteen units will be affordable for Landers, with an additional four units for residents without mental disabilities who will receive a small stipend and below market rent to spend 2-4 hours a week building community and providing support as needed. Additionally, we will have one unit for a House Manager on a salary who will oversee the building and foster a supportive community environment.
While the project will not provide services, it will address the main problem facing adults with developmental disabilities: social isolation. The community at large often overlooks adults with developmental disabilities. This exclusion is usually due to fast-paced lives and a lack of understanding rather than malice. Still, the effect can lead to loneliness. Research shows that when individuals with developmental disabilities spend time together, they demonstrate an increase in a sense of belonging, friendship, and safety (Hal, 2010; Milner & Kelly, 2009).
Needs
Springboard Landings' top needs this year include:
- Identifying and applying for grants that can help with construction costs and operations
- Growing outreach
CEO Statement
Families of adults with developmental disabilities are looking for long-term residential solutions for their loved ones. Springboard Landings was founded as a first-of-its-kind organization to serve this population which had been overlooked previously. Springboard Landings is pleased to be one of the few organizations working to fill the gap between services offered for the severely disabled and those who require less support. We seek to provide a housing option for those adults whose developmental disabilities limit their ability to live fully independently but who do not need the level of services provided by a group home or institutional environment. Our 'Landers' are able to live mostly independent, they just need a little help to reach their full potential. One of the biggest challenges we have faced is to educate the public about the type of person we're targeting. Most assume we're serving the intellectually or physically challenged who already have several programs in place. Our population is the high-functioning adult with mild developmental disabilities who cannot live independently without some limited support. Most of them have jobs, although in a relatively low-skilled position so most likely they will not be able to support themselves financially: some of them drive; they long for companionship; they are vulnerable and need some assistance to live independently.
Our successes have been through those donors who understand and support our mission. We look forward to the day soon when we have a thriving community.
Board Chair Statement
Our Founders started this organization after watching their adult daughter with developmental disabilities interact with another group, Springboard Network. Springboard Network, started in Nashville in 1993, is a social group for adults with developmental disabilities. One or two directors would organize weekly outings to dinner or entertainment. It is easy for this population's social life to be limited to their direct family, so the group was a lifeline for those involved. Springboard Landings has strong ties with Springboard Network and the larger developmentally disabled community in Nashville. While going to weekly Springboard Network gatherings, family members started noticing their loved one's confidence and self-responsibility grow with the group. The outcomes were so positive that they asked, "what if we could replicate this for housing?"
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Housing, Shelter - Independent Housing for People with Disabilities |
| Secondary Category: | Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy - Disabled Persons' Rights |
| Tertiary Category: | Human Services - Developmentally Disabled Services/Centers |
Areas Served
Greater Metropolitan Nashville and Middle Tennessee
| TN |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Sumner |
