In 2023 SOUL made a big push to collect data and make connections for our “In House Feasibility Study” on developing local housing for Sisters citizens with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
The Roundhouse Foundation generously offered to fund a professional to conduct this study and gave us several leads and ideas to get us started. After months of searching, SOUL had no luck finding someone to actually conduct a complete study, so our small but scrappy board of directors spent many months assembling data, and connecting with organizations to do this study ourselves.
A brief summary of the study results
Our study results show that there is a small but definite need for housing for adult IDD citizens. We also found that after using grants and private donations to fund the land purchase and the build, the income from affordable rents would be able to sustain the project.
Our next step forward on this housing project would be to secure a half acre of land in Sisters, either through a donation or through a seller who could wait for payment.
We could then make a site plan and drawings, apply for grants, and start a funding campaign. We would, at the same time, urgently need partners in the building industry to help us navigate the ins and outs of a project in which the current board lacks expertise.
Another prerequisite for SOUL going forward on the building project is simply “fresh blood” in the form of new board members! Current board members have been working on this project for nearly 4 years, and new people will be needed in order to continue.
Call for members:
Our board meetings are held once a month and last an hour or less. We often have tasks that vary in complexity and which are assigned to voluntary participants, usually to compete before the next monthly meeting.
We welcome anyone with a good attitude and an interest in helping – and especially if you have experience in the building, financing, or real estate trade, or can help with project management or grant writing!
If you have an interest in joining our friendly, “can-do” board on this project, please send an inquiry to: [email protected].
