Villa Esperanza is a nonprofit organization formed in 1961. (website : https://www.villaesperanzaservices.org/default.aspx ) They have been providing services to those with developmental disabilities for over 60 years.
Villa Esperanza started out with Rachel Keith, who believed that her son, Ronnie (born with down syndrome), deserved to be part of society just like everyone else. Along with a group of like-minded parents, Rachel started a school for developmentally disabled children – in the comfort of her own home.
By 1961, societal norms started to match up with Racel and the other parents’ vision. With the help of the Pasadena Civitan Club, an old property on Villa Street (hence the organization name) was bought, and an official school was created. The same year, Villa was incorporated as an official nonprofit organization, and was open for business.
Villa Esperanza offers a vast range of services for their clients.
The very first (and oldest!) one being the Villa Esperanza school. They offer three sections of grades – elementary, middle and high school. What Villa believes in is an individualized approach to education. Each child at the villa school is different. To maximize each child’s learning and overall experience, villa’s staff and teachers use positive behavioral support. The staff at the villa school also uses a comprehensive approach to education, consisting of, but not limited to, these services: Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Behavior Intervention, Music, and Recreational & Art Therapists.
Villa Esperanza has established the Hjelte-Phillips Speech and Language center. It is a community clinic that provides individualized communication therapy to each Villa patient. Villa clinicians work with each patient to help them reach their greatest and fullest potential in a warm and compassionate environment. Villa treats many patients with various speech and language disabilities. The clinicians are experienced in treating patients with ailments such as phonological and articulation disorders, learning differences, neurodevelopmental and intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injuries, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and nonverbal/minimally verbal clients who need assistive technology (including AAC (augmentative and alternative communication)).
The Villa Esperanza Services Occupational Therapy Clinic. It is a community clinic located in Pasadena. Just like their other services, it provides unique, client-centered therapy. The clinic sees patients of all ages to help increase their independence in daily activities that are meaningful to them, which helps the patients reach their full potential.
- The Occupational Therapy Clinic serves patients of all ages, but they have different programs for each age group. From 0-3 years old, they have an Early Intervention Services program, which specializes in typical pediatric OT (Occupational Therapy) approaches, and additionally, provides developmental feeding therapy. For patients 4-22 years old, they provide School-Based OT Services. These services, mentioned in the name, are provided to students at the Villa Esperanza school campus. For patients 18+, Villa offers an OT Services for Adults with Developmental Disabilities Program. This program includes an Adult Day Program, and an employment services program.
- Villa’s Adult Day Program supports adults in all aspects of daily life and provides them with meaningful activities such as socialization skills, art projects, holiday celebrations, community services, and much more! The Adult Day Program has 2 sub programs, each with a different staff-client ratio; the Dimensions Day Program has a 1:6 ratio, and the ADP (Adult Day Program) in Pasadena has a 1:1 ratio.
- The Dimensions Day Program was formed to help develop and maintain each person’s functional, cognitive, and behavioral skills required for successful community integration. This program serves individuals aged 18 and above (with intellectual/developmental disabilities) who no longer qualify for public school funding.
- The ADP (Adult Day Program) is tailored to patients with more severe physical, mental, and/or developmental disabilities. The ADP also has Licensed Vocational Nurses on site to help meet the needs of the ADP patients. The ADP has a variety of services designed to help form and maintain each patient’s independence and decrease their social isolation.
- One last service that Villa Esperanza offers is the Employment Services Program. Due to many employers viewing disabled people as a liability to their companies, disabled people have a much harder time finding jobs than the average person. Villa works with companies in Pasadena to help match their clients with I/DD (intellectual/developmental disabilities) to these companies, therefore helping them secure and maintain paid employment in their community. One such success story is of Greg Guerrero. Greg, one of several villa clients with developmental disabilities, with the help of Villa, was able to get a job at the Burke Williams Spa in Pasadena. He is still working there to this day.
Villa Esperanza believes and encourages people to understand that everyone has capabilities. All they need is the permission, support, and tools to use them and help them grow.
