Douglas County Board of County Commissioners
Business Meeting March 28th
Dear Wellspring Community,
We’ve already shared the incredible story of how the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners partnered with Wellspring to acquire the former La Quinta hotel to turn it into Wellspring Housing’s very first facility called Unity on Park (in case you missed this latest update, you can read it here).
Yesterday, the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners held a Business Meeting in which they formally voted to convey (transfer ownership in) the hotel property to Wellspring Housing—a vote that carried unanimously, 3-0. In addition, the Board formally declared the month of March to be I/DD Awareness Month in Douglas County.
Because of the significance of this Business Meeting, the Board of County Commissioners and their staff invited all of Wellspring STARS to be in attendance.
The reason I share all of this is because a very remarkable thing happened. At every Business Meeting, the County Commissioners open the floor to citizen comment. When they did so for the two items I’ve described above, so many of our STARS, unprompted and on their own, decided to step up to the lectern and share their thoughts, feelings, and gratitude with the Commissioners. And the County Commissioners—to their credit—listened to every last person who wanted to comment.
As I stood in the back watching, the weight of the moment hit me hard. This is why Wellspring exists. We are passionate about creating a world of bi-directional inclusion. What we mean by this is that not only do we long for adults with I/DD to experience increased access to ever greater portions of society, but we know that society also benefits from the increased presence of adults with I/DD in our midst. This bi-directional inclusion was on powerful display at yesterday’s Business Meeting.
And the best part? It was recorded. So you can watch and see for yourself by clicking the link below:
I’m honored to be a part of this community.
Onward,
Peter Barber
Development Director