CID NEWS

CID NEWSLETTER: JUNE 2002

Table of Contents

• From the Desk of the Executive Director: Kent Mickelson
• Information & Referral
• CID Gets A Facelift!

From the Desk of the Executive Director: Kent Mickelson

I want to express my greatest thanks to the Stanford Staff and volunteers who did a fantastic job in giving a "face-lift" to the CID building. CID was selected by the "Rebuilding Together" program (formally the "Christmas in April" program) to have portions of our facility upgraded. We were very fortunate to have the Stanford University Facilities Dept. spearhead the efforts.

Thank you does not seem adequate to express how I feel about all the efforts from so many individuals on behalf of CID and the disability community.

After 13 months of negotiations, our Assistive Technology Dept. and Legal Aid in San Mateo had an elevator installed for our consumer, Sunny Lin. The completion of our project could not come at a more opportune time. Channel 4 News Center awarded a 4 Year College Scholarship to Sunny, and he will be attending San Francisco State University during the next semester. Thanks to the generous donation of a wheelchair accessible van by Wheelchair Getaways, of San Francisco, Sunny was able to attend his senior prom.

Information & Referral

A new rental assistance program has opened up; this program will provide financial help to those in need so they can obtain new housing, or avoid losing their existing housing. The Jim Smith Affordable Housing Trust Fund, originally formed in 1982 to help fund an affordable housing development in Redwood City, is now part of the City's Redevelopment Fund.

One element of the program will provide eligible people with one-percent interest loans, payable over two years. The program will help pay security deposits to obtain rental housing. Another element will assist with emergency rent payments for people who are at risk of losing their existing housing.

The program to be funded from this trust fund has been named the Kathleen Mahany Legacy in honor of Kathleen Mahany for her more than quarter-century of service on the Housing and Human Concerns Committee.

Contact Marta for more details, 650-595-0785 ext 118.

CID Gets a Facelift!

On Saturday, April 27th at 7am over 100 volunteers from the Stanford Facilities Department descended upon the Center for the Independence of the Disabled for a single-day blitz renovation project. Stanford headed the team revitalization effort, which was the single largest undertaking of the nearly sixty Rebuilding Together projects taking place that day in California. Stanford University operates a local chapter of the national organization, Rebuilding Together, formerly "Christmas in April." Their mission is to preserve and revitalize houses and nonprofit facilities.

The enthusiastic Stanford University volunteers were aided by volunteers from Carlmont High School with the assistance of CID staffers who painted and refurbished the entire building, inside and out, installed new windows, built a ramp, remodeled decks, reshaped the landscaping, installed a drip irrigation system, plus many other improvements. The Stanford effort was Phase Two of a Three Phase refurbishing program.

Phase One has been going on for over a year and involves the installation of a new heating and air-conditioning system, which is now near completion.

Phase Three, which beings in July, will provide new carpets, and better lighting. The CID building began life in 1936 as the first official fire station in San Mateo County, and CID took occupancy in 1979. CID greatly appreciates the efforts of Stanford University, the Rebuilding Together program, Carlmont High School students and the many individuals that assisted us to upgrade our facilities!