Welcome LSA’s 15th Home, the Hatikvah House!
LSA is beyond excited to acquire a local home in Campbell for intellectually and developmentally disabled adults, the Hatikvah House, that was threatened with shutting its doors due to the current worker shortage.
About the Hatikvah Home
Located near LSA headquarters in Campbell, Hatikvah has been in operation for over 20 years. It upholds Jewish traditions while serving both non-Jewish and Jewish residents. Local parents founded Hatikvah, which means ‘hope’ in Hebrew, in the 1990s as a home for developmentally disabled adults wanting to maintain a Jewish way of life. This includes a kosher kitchen and celebration of the Jewish holidays, including an annual Hanukkah party. Each resident participates in a structured schedule of activities that is responsive to their needs, choices and preferences. Residents have mostly been drawn from the Bay Area, however, the home also has residents who moved from as far away as San Diego. The house is owned by Jewish Silicon Valley and leased to LSA, which will operate it as a Level 4C Adult Residential Care Facility. Learn more about the Hatikvah home acquisition.
A Look Inside the Hatikvah Home
Single-Occupancy Rooms & Spacious Accommodations
Hatikvah House is a spacious two story home in a central-Campbell residential neighborhood. Each resident has their own private bedroom at Hatikvah House.
Kosher Kitchen
Our kitchen is stocked with kosher meat and we run a kosher-style food program.
Shabbat Dinners & Hannukah Parties
Hatikvah House residents enjoy regular Shabbat dinners, along with observance of other Jewish holidays. This includes our big annual Hannukah Party.
Active Evenings & Fun Weekends
Regular evening activities include preparing lunch for the following day, treadmill, showers, dinner preparation, and laundry. Some fun activities that the residents enjoy are watching TV, doing puzzles, reading books, playing games, and crocheting.
Special Events
Volunteers join us 4-6 times a year for special events. They do arts and crafts, baking, gardening or small repair projects, and have sing-alongs with a guitar player. During Hanukkah, a havurah group that has been coming for the past 10 years brings latkes with all of the trimmings, along with kazoos and song sheets for a night of singing by the light of our Menorahs.
Transportation Options
Most of the residents use the Outreach program for social activities. Hatikvah House has an eight passenger van for house activities such as weekly group shopping trips to Costco, Disability Awareness Night with the San Jose Giants, annual BBQ-pool party at Loma Vista and an overnight retreat to Enchanted Hills in Napa.
Day Program Options
There are a variety of day programs available depending on each resident’s wants and needs, including Hope Services, SVS and SVDN, just to name a few. Safeway and Tesla are companies that hire clients who are capable of working more independently. Those clients usually work in groups of four with a job coach.
Clients tend to use MVP (a bus that takes them directly to and from the day program), Outreach and/or public transportation.
JCC Membership
Residents get free membership at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in nearby Los Gatos.
Virtual Open House of Hatikvah
Thank you to everyone who came to our virtual open house! In case you missed us, you can view the recording to the open house virtual tour and the story of the re-opening of Hatikvah below
Continuing LSA’s Mission
With the acquisition of this home, LSA now has 15 homes providing exceptional living and quality care to I/DD individuals in Santa Clara County. Over the past decade, LSA has added seven new homes and continues to be committed to opening a home a year.
The acquisition of Hatikvah House allows LSA to continue its mission to expand capacity, especially when so many of its non-profit counterparts are closing their doors. As a tiny operation, Hatikvah was in danger of closing due to the current worker shortage. The acquisition of this home was finalized on November 15, 2021.
To continue LSA’s mission to allow all I/DD people to live in their own homes, LSA thrives through the support of the community and local businesses. Please consider supporting LSA’s by visiting www.lsahomes.org/donate.
Make a Donation to the Hatikvah Home
If you would like to make a donation that will go towards the Hatikvah home and residents, please donate below:
J Valley Article about the Hatikvah House
Hatikvah House Provides a Home
California’s only Jewish independent living facility for developmentally disabled adults
[This article is from the 2017 Fall/Winter issue of JValley Magazine.]
If it’s Wednesday, you can be sure the residents of Hatikvah House will be enjoying pizza at Mountain Mike’s. According to Delores Wade, the House Manager, the only thing residents love more is their weekly trip to Costco.
“The samples are a big hit,” Wade said. “So is the food court. The residents love Costco hot dogs.”
A trip to Costco also provides an opportunity for the developmentally disabled residents of Hatikvah House to make the decisions about what food to buy for the week.
“Our residents have responsibilities around the house,” Wade said. “Those are in addition to the jobs most of them also have. Hatikvah House is their home, and there are always things that need to be done.”
As California’s only Jewish independent living facility for developmentally disabled adults, Hatikvah House fills a unique need. The nondescript house on the quiet residential street in Campbell gives no outward indication as to its importance within the disability community.
“I’ve been here since it opened 17 years ago,” said resident Hillary Wolfe, “and I want to live here for the rest of my life.” Wolfe’s family lived in San Diego when they discovered Hatikvah House. After living away from them for many years, her family eventually moved to the Bay Area to be closer to her.
“We’re a family,” said Diane Covarrubias, the live-in night supervisor. “They’re my kids.”
Hatikvah House serves residents who are classified as “level three” by the State of California, describing developmentally disabled adults who have the ability to work and take basic care of themselves.
“We have a specific type of client we can accommodate,” Wade said. “And because we keep a kosher kitchen, we’re also able to accommodate clients with very specific cultural needs.”
Shabbat is observed, as are all Jewish holidays, including a huge annual Hanukkah party. Rabbi Phillip Ohriner of Congregation Beth David provides rabbinical support. Residents participate in a structured schedule of events and activities that are responsive to their individual needs. Outings to restaurants, films and live theater are all part of life at Hatikvah House.
“Most of our residents have jobs,” Wade explained. “Hillary Wolfe is a greeter at Safeway. And Joey Ferman does landscaping at the Tesla factory in Fremont. They travel to and from their jobs every day, pack their own lunches the night before, and it’s that sense of freedom and responsibility that helps keep them engaged.”
“Hatikvah House is like a little pearl of Jewish values,” said David Hurwitz, a member of the facility’s board of directors. “Not many people know it exists, and we’d like to change that.”
Residents at Hatikvah must be older that 18 with challenges in cognitive, self-help and social functioning. They may also have physical limitations, but do need to be ambulatory and able to exit the facility on their own in the event of an emergency.
Balancing its budget based on tzedakah from members of the Silicon Valley Jewish community, Hatikvah House is always appreciative of donations.
