Taking a Hike for Glennwood House of Laguna Beach

BY LAUREN ADIOVA

Residents of Laguna Beach and surrounding cities on Saturday participated in the Walk and Roll-A-Thon, the Glenwood House’s second annual walk to help raise funds for 50 young adults with developmental disabilities—the future residents of Glennwood House of Laguna Beach.

Wearing their Glennwood House shirt or any other dark blue or green shirt, approximately 70 to 90 residents, family members, future residents, and supporters started at Main Beach by the playground and followed the boardwalk to Coast Highway, through Heisler Park to Diver’s Cove and back.

The goal was for each participant, family, and community member to raise $500, with the larger goal to raise $200,000, in order to finish construction and move residents in by June 1. The goal is for the building to be paid off so that residents' money for room and board will be affordable.

The Glenwood House will be completely renovated with 42 single rooms, a gym, a medical area, dining hall, sensory garden, all wheelchair accessible gardens, respite room, recreation room, and more.

"Parents want an option for their children," said Cindy Beaman, one of the volunteer coordinators and future board member of Glennwood House. "Our children are older now, they want to be independent, they want to live on their own, but the options they have in Orange County are limited to small six spread group homes, and Glennwood was designed to be a community setting where they can be a community and they can serve the community."

Along with the community-style renovations, the Glennwood property, which was originally built as a hotel in the '70s then became a retirement community, will have all single rooms be Amerinca Disabities Act (ADA) appropriate and have the plumbing, which was a problem to pipe corrosion, fixed.

The Glennwood House, at 2130 S. Coast Highway, has been under construction since September. Stacey Enmeier, the assistant director of Glennwood, looks forward to have residents moving in.

"Laguna has been phenomenal with how they have come around and supported Glennwood House, and we really just wanted to do an introduction into society," said Enmeier. "That way, they get used to seeing people who have developmental disabilities in the community."

On the Walk and Roll-A-Thon, Enmeier said "We’re walking with them and talking with them and seeing them as a person first, then their disability. It's just a great way for the community to walk, have a great view, and really get to know who is going to be living in Glennwood House."