Get to Noah Us
Everyone Deserves a Loving Home
We take pride in our excellence in quality of care and independence in living.
Dignity. Choice. Personal & Spiritual Growth.
“He never even turned around and said goodbye to us, he was just so happy to be with his friends,” said Maureen Sage, the mother of a resident of Noah Homes, as she described the day her son Ryan moved in. “And you know, that’s what you want for your adult children. You want them to be happy, you want them to be surrounded by people who love them… and I would have to say that all of the hopes and dreams that you have for a normal kid, have really come true at Noah.”
Count Your Age By Your Friends
Our youngest resident is 25 and the oldest is 78, with an average age of 49.
About Noah Homes
Since 1983, our mission as a nonprofit has been to provide exceptional residential services and opportunities to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This now includes advocacy and community partnership. Our goal is to maximize each individual’s independence in a community environment that fosters dignity and respect, as well as personal and spiritual growth.
Daily Life
Each weekday morning, most of our residents exercise their independence by leaving their homes to work in the community or engage in various community activities. If needed, a job coach supports them. For those who prefer a more relaxed environment, our life enrichment program offers stimulating activities from the comfort of their home.
Residents enjoy San Diego and the outlying areas during weekends. There are plenty of choices every week for recreation, enrichment, and worship! Favorites include ice skating, Padres baseball games, karaoke, and bowling.
Our Homes
Today, 90 men and women, whom we call “the folks,” live at Noah Homes. The 10 residences, which have names like Casa de Flores and Casa de Felicidad, pay homage to San Diego's strong Hispanic culture.
Noah Homes is an oasis of peace and a hub of activity, offering residents continued opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment. The folks are our inspiration in action, helping us understand how best to support all people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Noah’s Ark Angel Foundation
Noah's Ark Angel Foundation (the Foundation) is a single-purpose charitable foundation supporting Noah Homes' work. Community members and the Noah Homes board of directors established the Foundation to raise awareness of Noah Homes and strengthen its financial stability. Please visit the Ark Angel Foundation website for more information.
History
Though developmental disability is the thread common to all the folks who live at Noah, the reality is that once a person arrives, the diagnosis quickly fades into the background. Freed from the label, some very interesting people come into view.
In 1979, a group of Catholic parents met to brainstorm areas of concern for their daughters and sons with disabilities. The secret dream of each of the parents was that a faith-based home for their children could become a reality. After much persistence and hard work, the parents, community and Sister Kathryn Jennings managed to incorporate a facility and enter into escrow on a property.
In 1982, with the help of Walter Fitch III, Noah Homes, Inc., purchased eight acres in Spring Valley and in 1983 opened Casa de Felicidad with six residents and four people on staff. Becoming a model of best practices for supporting people with disabilities and their families, Noah Homes has added three more acres, seven more houses and many more residents. Through fundraising and private donations, Noah Homes has remodeled, expanded, and become a successful environment promoting a place of refuge, safety, and acceptance exactly like Noah’s ark.
The history of Noah Homes has included celebrating graduations from school to cashing first paychecks and shopping for a formal dress or tux for the Harvest Ball. It has called for supporting those whose parents have died and seeking solace when one of “the folks” dies. It has included walking with several of our friends into the darkness of Alzheimer disease. There have been moments of exhilaration, as well as profound sadness. It is all part of life and the wonder of being human. It is all an expression of love.