Where the Fullest Lives are Lived

During its 76-year history, Hillside House, a residential facility for people with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, has grown accustomed to multiple periods of profound change. In 1955, it outgrew its building in Ojai and moved into a state-of-the-art facility in a then-remote part of Santa Barbara known as Hidden Valley. It was a different era, when many families kept their relatives with developmental disabilities hidden away from public sight. Societal mores have evolved drastically since those bygone days. Today, Hillside House celebrates and strategically engages every one of its 59 residents in the broader community. The nonprofit works eagerly in partnerships with a wide variety of local agencies and organizations like Alpha Resource Center, Easy Lift, and Assistance League.

“Hillside is an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) where local families truly appreciate the love, care, and attention their loved ones receive. They value our individualized, person-centered approach and know that each resident is treated with dignity, and provided every opportunity to live their fullest life,” says President and CEO Michael Rassler.

One of those residents is Ryan, who has lived at Hillside for 20 years. Since he came to the facility, his family encouraged him to meet people. He befriended neighbors and began taking out their trash. When the neighbors noticed there was no continuous sidewalk connecting the community and their home to the Hillside campus, they constructed a ramp so he could ride his electric wheelchair. 

“Hillside is a big family,” Rassler says. “It is an incredibly inspiring, welcoming, warm, and loving place where the residents, neighbors, and staff all look out for each other.”

Today, Hillside is going through another moment of transformation as societal mores continue to evolve. New government mandates are requiring that residents with development and intellectual disabilities move out of institutional living arrangements and into integrated housing. Accordingly, Hillside is embarking on a major development initiative that will incorporate senior housing at its campus, with walkways and outdoor and indoor activities for all residents in a new integrated, mixed-abilities community.

What will never change is the around-the-clock commitment to top medical and empathetic care for which Hillside House is known. Eighty-four percent of residents are non-ambulatory and most are medically fragile.

“Hillside House is unique in what it offers,” says Director of Operations Gail Metzger. “It takes a lot to give people the life that they deserve, and we do everything we can to provide that.”