AGOURA : Training Camp Raises Construction Funds
The Villa Esperanza home for developmentally disabled adults has raised $660,000 needed to build a new kitchen and common room so its clients can eat, socialize and train for careers together.
The construction project, which is scheduled to begin June 8, also will include outfitting the rustic camp in the hills of unincorporated Agoura with an elevator and wheelchair ramps for the 20 residents and their visitors.
When the 3,000-square-foot building and other improvements are complete in about a year, the camp will be used to more effectively train more clients to work as waiters, cooks and other jobs.
“Our feeling about ourselves comes from what we are able to do and how useful we are,” said Villa Esperanza Director Betty DeSantis. “These people are just the same. It improves their self-esteem to be able to get out and work.”
The $660,000 was raised during the past year through grants from foundations and contributions from individuals.
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