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Fremont Oak Gardens (FOG)
Fremont California 94539 Project Summary: Satellite Senior Homes, Inc. (SH) and the Bay Area Coalition of Deaf Senior Citizens(BACDSC) as co-sponsors are together developing Fremont Oak Gardens, the first affordable housing facility for deaf seniors in Northern California. The design, amenities and supportive service plan of this 51-unit building are designed to meet the special needs of deaf senior citizens in the City of Fremont as well as the greater Bay Area and Northern California. The co-sponsors and the City of Fremont recognize that deaf seniors are an under-served and vulnerable group who are more prone to mental and physical health problems and poverty than their hearing counterparts. The lack of American Sign Language (ASL) in conventional senior housing facilities, for example, is a significant barrier to the deaf population’s ability to access proper services or communicate with other residents or management staff. Area Agencies on Aging indicate that isolation for the elderly population is an ongoing problem; for deaf seniors it is often insurmountable. The co-sponsors secured significant financial support from the City of Fremont as well as surrounding localities, including Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Alameda County. This remarkable multi-jurisdictional support attests to the important regional nature of this project. Models do exist in other parts of the country for affordable housing designed for deaf seniors including Columbus Colony in Westerville, Ohio, Pilgrim Towers in Los Angeles, California, California Home for the Deaf, Arcadia California, and Orchard Manor in Omaha, Nebraska. There is no affordable service-enriched housing specifically designed for deaf seniors in Northern California to address the large population (estimated at 16,349 in the greater Bay Area). The co-sponsors worked with representatives from the above facilities who have implemented the concept successfully. The design of Fremont Oak Gardens is specially tailored to meet the needs of seniors and has additional amenities for the deaf. Beyond the customary senior amenities that Satellite builds in its other senior facilities, deaf design needs were identified through five design workshops with the BACDSC. Feedback on the design was forwarded from the wider deaf senior community. The architectural team included Mark Quinones, a deaf architect. The site, owned by DSRC, is located in the cultural center of the Bay Area’s deaf population. The vacant two-acre parcel has been subdivided from what was a larger four acre site owned and partially occupied by St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. The pleasant pastoral nature of the site belies its proximity to major shopping areas, parks and community centers. Living together in one community, deaf seniors will be able to access direct services, participate in social and cultural programs, and share their own culture and language. The wider community will benefit by recognizing the richness of deaf culture and by having a place to take ASL classes and participate in ASL training programs, among other opportunities. Responding to the challenges facing low-income deaf senior citizens in the Bay Area and Northern California, Fremont Oak Gardens is designed specifically to meet the physical, social and communication needs of this underserved population. Contact: Ryan Chao, Satellite Housing Tel: 510-647-0700; TDD: 510-647-0820 E-mail: rchao@sathomes.org Fremont Oak Garden's National Award Check out FOG's National Award, The 2006 Best Seniors Project by Affordable Housing Finance magazine: http://www.satellitehousing.org/pages/news_ahf.html Helen Putnam Award for Excellence Another FOG Recognition: http://www.cacities.org
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