Pearce has the kind of smile that can light up a room.
The Treasure House resident — one of the first to move into the Glendale facility — is growing and thriving in her new living environment.
“I’m more independent without my mom telling me kind of what to do or having her make my decisions for me, because I’m learning how to do it on my own. She was so used to doing it for me,” Pearce said.
Pearce’s story is a common theme at Treasure House, a supportive living community for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A strong emphasis on independence, respect, and community integration provides an optimal environment for residents to live, work, and enjoy recreational activities while being part of a larger family.
Pearce, who previously lived with her family at home, now lives at Treasure House next door to her good friend Kate. Pearce and Kate enjoy activities together like going to movies and recently went to a spring training baseball game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. While having fun with her friends, Pearce is also learning to be independent on her own.
“It feels like a big huge giant family,” she said. “Let’s say someone is having a bad day — people notice and they try to cheer you up the best they can.”
Also supporting Pearce’s newfound independence is her Treasure House Life Coach, Nadai, who has been working with Pearce during her six-month residency.
“Over the last six months I’ve just continued to see her confidence grow in her own abilities” Nadai said. “And knowing that she has the ability to make her own decisions and be able to advocate for herself in a way that she didn’t realize she was able to do before.”
Lauri Tanner, CEO of Treasure House, said that Pearce’s growth is a perfect example of the kind of positive effect the Treasure House environment is having on its residents.
“Almost every day you see someone achieve something they’ve never done before or never thought they could do,” Tanner said. “Since we opened last year, that’s what has really surprised us — we knew this would be a great change for our residents, but we had no idea how quickly they would achieve these new levels of independence.”