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Pilar is a resident at Hillside House, a Residential Care Facility in Goleta,
California that houses up to 59 adults and children with a wide variety of
developmental disabilities including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism
and epilepsy. Many of the residents are non-ambulatory, with levels of
disability ranging from moderate to severe. Kidz-Biz visits Hillside House regularly and spends time with the all of
residents (much to Pilar’s chagrin who wants them all to herself!) learning
about acceptance and appreciation. Pilar is in her 30’s and is the "Hillside House Princess." Pilar
was born with Cerebral Palsy and cannot communicate verbally though she is
completely aware of everything around her and simply can’t speak. She loves
Starbuck’s and BOYS!!! The girls love to take her out to the beach and for
Mocha Frappucino’s.
Chris is one of Pilar’s many boyfriends and was severely brain damaged by abuse sustained as an infant. Chris LOVES fast cars and camera’s because he knows that whenever someone has a camera, he can get his picture taken with Pilar and this is simply an excuse to squeeze in a little smooch! Zarah is the resident "smiley face." She LOVES to smile. She doesn’t realize that she is smiling most all the time and makes certain that you stop to watch her work at it. She puts so much effort behind creating her beautiful smile and it makes you realize just how challenging simply smiling can often be for those with disabilities.
Kristen writes wonderful poetry and stories! We will try to convince her that she needs to share one of her poems with us so we can in turn share it with you. Barbara is a wonderful painter. We will also try to get some of her work up on the website to share it with the World! And last but not least……..Morgan! Morgan wants to be a trash man! He has a collection of trash trucks and many video’s of trash trucks! He LOVES trash collectors! Hillside House is struggling to remain open. State funding has been cut and they have already seen the effects. The small therapy pool on the premises can no longer be used for the residents because the facility can’t afford to heat it. If the facility closes, the residents who call Hillside House "home" will be relocated to other facilities in other States that don’t specialize in dealing with their afflictions. This would be terribly traumatic for all of the residents who would be lost without their Hillside Family. Kidz-Biz will be working to raise money to donate to the facility while continuing to visit the residents regularly and making their day just that much brighter! Please visit http://www.hillsidehousesb.org for more information or to make a donation! Kidz-biz thanks you!
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