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Transitions - Mental Health Association
Inspiring hope, growth, recovery and wellness in our communities.
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ITEM NO.: "[ %3M-,L
Dear Neighbors, - Soon44eo b, T.11 moots c -v lk,}�
My name is Jill - Bolster White, and I'm the Executive Director of Transitions - Mental Health Association.
On April 1st, our agency secured a five -year option by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to develop the abandoned
Sunny Acres orphanage building into 14 single- occupant units of permanent, supported housing for adults with mental illness.
Although it took two years to negotiate the option, we are really at the beginning of our planning process. Our vision is to transform
the existing, derelict building into an inviting, supported housing complex. The option also allows TMHA to build up to three new
adjacent structures over time, adding a maximum of 21 additional single- occupant studio apartments. The existing building and any
new buildings would all be located on a single, 1.3 -acre parcel accessed through county -owned property on Bishop Street.
This may be a great deal to digest. So let me stop and explain who we are and what we do.
Transitions - Mental Health Association (TMHA) is a non -profit human services agency. For 35 years, we have developed and operated
residential, vocational, and day rehabilitation programs in San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara Counties for adults, seniors,
and youth struggling with mental illness. We are dedicated to eliminating stigma and promoting recovery and wellness for people
with mental illness through work, housing, community and family support services for their families and loved ones.
You may already know several of our projects. The Growing Grounds Farm wholesale nursery on Orcutt Road and Growing Grounds
Downtown store on Chorro Street are both community businesses employing dozens of adults with mental illness. We run the SLO
Hotline, a 24 -hour suicide prevention and mental health crisis line available to all county residents.
We also maintain a great deal of successful supported housing throughout the county. What do we mean by successful? A client
moves into safe housing and receives a variety of supportive services. He or she remains in housing, and works on personal recovery
goals that often include employment or education. Presently, our agency has over 300 clients in supported housing located in local
neighborhoods.
Some of these are large projects. Others are modestly sized renovations in the heart of town. All of them share something in
common. They provoked anxiety from the community when first announced.
We are accustomed to this reaction. Despite all the work we have done to combat the stigma of mental illness, people will often
leap to alarming assumptions. They may support the idea of supportive housing as a concept, but they question why the reality must
happen so close to home.
Our approach has been the same every time. We want to engage, answer your questions, listen to your concerns, and give you the
chance to see firsthand what we do. To that end, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you personally and arrange tours
of the Nipomo Street Studios here in San Luis Obispo or Nelson Street Apartments in Arroyo Grande. I will be at 1306 Nipomo Street
from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, May 16 and welcome you to come by.
There is something else our housing projects all hold in common: good relationships with our neighbors. Trepidation gives way to
understanding, and often a genuine enthusiasm for what TMHA accomplishes year in and year out.
I realize there is concern about a change in an area that has remained untouched for decades. I am sympathetic to those feelings. I
also believe this project encapsulates decisions we have to make as a community. I believe we share in the responsibility to assist
our most vulnerable residents, and Sunny Acres is a unique opportunity to help a meaningful number of people in a profound
manner. I also believe in restoring our community's past and the former orphanage is a part of that history. We hope you will see this
project as we see it: an asset to a community we all care deeply about.
I hope you will contact me, and we can build a true conversation. I can be reached at 540 -6505 or jbw @t- mha.org. Included with this
letter is a one -page fact sheet describing the status of the project and our intentions. We also have set up a web page at:
www.sunnyacrestransitions.info. Thank you for your interest.
Jill Bolster -White
Post Office Box 15408 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 • P 805.540.6500 • F 805.540.6501 • www.t- mha.org