About Parkview Services

Mission

History

Parkview Services began in 1967 with the innovative vision of the Chivers family. Dr. Norman Chivers and his wife Stella were the parents of a child with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs), and they wanted to create a safe, healthy, community-based housing option for their child and others like him. 

The goal was to create a home where children with IDDs could live and grow together over a lifetime. The Chivers started Parkview Group Home, (named for its proximity to Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill in Seattle) and it has been a home to people with IDDs ever since.

Timeline

1970’s-1980’s

During the 1970s, Parkview Services purchased two additional group homes. During this time, the State of Washington changed the focus of supported-living group homes to adults rather than children, and Parkview began serving adults with IDDs. The original residents of Parkview Group Home, who had lived there since their teens, remained in their home. Eventually, Parkview Services sold the other group homes and in the 1990s, started Affordable Housing Program for low-income people with IDDs. Currently, the Affordable Housing Program consists of 58 single-family homes and condos and houses over 170 low-income people with IDDs. Parkview charges no more than 30% of tenant income, no matter how low.

1990’s

In the 1990s Parkview operated the Group Home, the Affordable Housing Program, and took over the operation of the New Horizons Summer Camp for people with IDDs. Camp, renamed Camp Parkview, is a special away-from-home experience for adults with IDDs that takes place at the Camp Burton Conference Center on Vashon Island every summer. Over 60 Campers and 40 Volunteers come together to enjoy boating, swimming, games, arts & crafts, and friendship in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

2000’s-Present

The 2000s marked another period of growth for Parkview, with the addition of the Pre-Purchase Homeownership Program and the Mortgage Default Program.

The Pre-Purchase Homeownership Program started in 2006, providing first-time homebuyer education, HUD-approved housing counseling, and up to $90,000 in down payment assistance to qualified first-time buyers with a disability or who have a family member with a disability living with them. As of December 2018, this program has helped 127 households to become first-time homeowners. 

The Pre-Purchase Program also offers post-purchase education and counseling for homeowners to ensure continued success.

Parkview Services’ Mortgage Default Program officially began in 2011, with the passing of the Foreclosure Fairness Act (FFA) in Washington State. Parkview Services was instrumental in the development of this act, which impacts thousands of homeowners.

Since that time, Parkview’s HUD Approved Housing Counselors have helped over 36,000 homeowners and attended over 800 foreclosure mediations on behalf of struggling homeowners. We help people determine a course of action to reach goals, mitigate losses and maintain stable housing.

In 2020, we proudly opened our Parkview East office in Spokane County. This move allows us to create a greater impact on for clients East of the Cascades looking to work with our pre-purchase housing program. We have big goals for a continued rollout of programs for the rest of the State!

Parkview Services recognizes and respects the fact that our properties exist on the unceded traditional lands of the Coast Salish, Stillaguamish, Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip, Snohomish, S’Klallam, and Muckleshoot people. Today, the areas that Parkview Services serve are still home to many Indigenous people from across the Puget Sound and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and serve our clients in this territory.