The highly anticipated “Joey Town” opens September 1st at Broadcast Coffee in Seattle’s Central District. You won’t want to miss Joey Joseph’s (b. 1988) solo show. He is a Seattle based Vibrant Palette founding artist who makes intensely colorful art pieces that explore themes surrounding family, celebrities, hip hop culture, life in the city, fashion, and love. Welcome to Joey Town!
Above: Chris stands with Lisa and Bob Grove
Community Member Spotlight: Lisa Grove
Hello, I’m the ‘Bonus Mom’ to Chris Grove, a wonderful young man who also happens to have autism. When I met Chris, he was 13, non-verbal, very introverted, and did not participate in, what I would call, typical activities. Chris was also a “runner.” What I mean is, we had to secure and monitor his whereabouts 24/7. Chris, by working with wonderfully generous teachers and the ABA program, began to slowly communicate, understand direction, and eventually lost interest in running away.
After Chris graduated from high school, we looked for opportunities to keep his development and community engagement evolving. That’s when we learned about Parkview Services, and Camp Parkview.
Camp Parkview takes place over 5 days and is an overnight camp for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DDs). Chris had never gone to camp before, and I remember being extremely anxious over whether or not he would enjoy it. I knew this would be a way for Chris to meet friends, learn more about nature, play games and experience what every kid (and adult) deserves.
The first year we dropped Chris off at Camp Burton on Vashon Island, my husband and I were reluctant to leave until we knew we was comfortable. Well, Chris immediately started exploring the campground and cabins with his cabinmates, counselors and volunteers. They were all there to ensure a safe camping adventure for all. For the next five days, my husband and I waited at home near our phones waiting for a call to come pick him up. I’m happy to say that that call never came. When we picked up Chris on the last day of camp, he was happy, had a bag full of artwork, prizes from games he played. Best of all, Chris had a lot of new friends! Chris looks forward to camp every year now and has lifelong friendships from the experience!
Parkview Services fully embodies the spirit of people helping people. That mission permeates across all their programs and ensures that people with I/DDs feel included in their communities. Whether it’s through affordable housing, group living or socializing through camp and art activities; their programs empower the I/DD community with opportunities, dignity, stability, and a sense of belonging.
Above: Chris Grove with volunteer Tyler Henry at Camp Parkview’s annual “Spa Day.” At Spa Day, campers get their hands dipped in wax, paint nails, get vital foot care, and other relaxing activities.
We released our unaudited 2022 Annual Report to the Community The report reveals a year of tremendous growth and details community-based efforts and dollars spent toward aid for Washingtonians, especially those with I/DDs, seeking to find, buy, or keep a home.
Our impact touches all corners of Washington state through four innovative programs: Affordable Housing, Homeownership, Group Home & Supported Living Services, and Community Engagement.
The 2022 operating budget was $4.688 million, with the largest portion of those monies allocated toward our affordable housing programming. This critical program is making huge strides and funding was secured to develop six new affordable housing projects, including a first-of-its-kind Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) Pilot Project near Lake City Way in Seattle. Additional projects in the pipeline, at various stages of development, are in Tukwila, Seattle, Marysville, Mukilteo, Graham, Gig Harbor, and Everett. By the end of this year Parkview Services expects to have 218 available units for adults with I/DDs and more than 230 available units by the end of 2024.
Our staff and client base grew while our community engagement programming (Camp Parkview), continued to provide meaningful activities and relationship building, delivering on our promise to provide a higher quality of life. The homeownership programs touches all parts of Washington and helped over 5,200 individuals buy, or keep, a new home through education, mortgage default counseling, downpayment assistance, or agreements and resolutions with loan servicers to prevent foreclosure.
Executive Director Marc Cote explained, “we have been laying groundwork and knocking on funders doors for the more than 5 years. In 2022, our hard work finally started to pay off. Our incredible staff and supporters will continue to work tirelessly to level the playing field so everyone who wants and needs a home can have one.”
We heard you! Camp Parkview, held on Vashon Island each July, is wildly popular – and you want more community engagement activities like this all year-long. So, with that in mind, we are thrilled to welcome Vibrant Palette (VP) into the Parkview Services family. By taking over operations for Vibrant Palette we are now uniquely poised to expand and enrich our weekly community engagement program resources for adults with I/DDs.
At Vibrant Palette, our Parkview client-artist participants are able to meet with studio art professionals, each Wednesday, at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle’s Central District. The all-day program is designed to provide client-artists with life-altering opportunities to develop independence, self-direction, and creative expression while acquiring artmaking skills. Studio directors and client artists work in a wide range of visual mediums including painting, drawing, ceramics, woodwork, and textiles. Show your support and see the artist’s progress by attending our quarterly art shows across Puget Sound.
