A Forever Home: The Setzer Family's Journey to Peace of Mind
For Clay and Debra Setzer, raising their daughter Alexia was a journey that began with puzzles.
Not metaphorical ones. Real puzzles. Alexia would study each piece, even if they were turned upside down, and build the whole thing from memory. She was three years old. It was one of the first signs to her parents that something remarkable was happening inside their daughter's mind, even as the world struggled to understand her.
Alexia's early years brought with them a series of discoveries. Tests at Kaiser and Children's Hospital revealed severe to profound hearing loss, later traced to auditory neuropathy, a condition where sound reaches the ear but scrambles before it reaches the brain. Hearing aids unfortunately only amplified the noise. A cochlear implant eventually opened a door toward better communication, as well as an eventual autism diagnosis. All of this before her third birthday.
But Clay and Debra never stopped seeing Alexia for who she was: a bright, joyful, fiercely observant young woman with a photographic memory and a heart full of love for the people around her. At age six, Alexia studied a map of Disneyland on her tablet for months. When her parents took her later that year she guided them, hand in hand, through the sea of park goers much taller than her, straight to Buzz Lightyear: Astro Blasters.
Her dad also recalls Alexia’s ability to remember the birthdays of people she had met only briefly years before. "She was way smarter than what she was projecting," says Clay.
As Alexia grew, so did a quiet, persistent worry that lives in the hearts of nearly every parent raising a child with an intellectual and developmental disability: What happens when we're gone?
Clay and Debra started asking that question when Alexia was young. They didn't want to burden other family members down the road with caretaking responsibilities. They wanted her to have her own life, as full and independent as possible. They just needed to find the right place, and they began looking far and wide, even out of state.
The Setzers were introduced to Noah Homes through a mutual friend. They were unaware that such a place existed and were rightfully hesitant. Could it be as good as it sounded? They set up a tour to see it firsthand, and the rest was history.
"As soon as you walked in, you couldn't help but fall in love with the place," Clay says. The photos of residents above the fireplace, the warmth in the air—it was the feeling that something real was happening here.
Still, Clay, with his background in law enforcement, needed to be sure. So, in 2017, the Setzers started volunteering. They attended Noah Homes’ annual Enchanted Village and visited the houses within the community. Staff and residents came to know Clay and Debra by name.
Alexia first visited Noah Homes when her parents brought her to an art class in the community center. She instantly connected with everyone in the room, and before long was clearing tables to help out. Staff handed her a volunteer badge. She has proudly worn it around her neck ever since, everywhere she goes.
"It's not just a book cover," Clay says about Noah Homes. "It's the real thing."
In 2021, the stakes grew higher. Debra was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, a terminal illness, and the urgency of finding Alexia a permanent home became undeniable. The wait for placement at Noah Homes is real, sometimes taking years. Families know this going in. But Clay and Debra kept moving forward, and when a spot opened in 2025, they said yes without hesitation.
This past summer, Alexia moved to Casa de Fe. In one of those moments that can only be described as “meant to be,” her House Manager turned out to be Tammy Levitt, who had babysat Alexia when she was just eight years old. "God will open doors," Clay repeated throughout the interview. "If you're lucky and smart, you'll walk through them."
Debra got to see it. She got to watch her daughter settle into her forever home, find her footing among her housemates, and grow into someone new. Since moving in, Alexia has tried foods she never would have touched before. She brushes her teeth, styles her hair, washes, and folds her laundry. The changes go beyond practicality. She carries herself differently now, more confident in how she moves through the world and handles the challenges that come her way. "She has grown so much," Clay says. "A completely different person in how she addresses issues in her life."
Debra passed away nine months after her daughter moved into Noah Homes, knowing her daughter was home.
"As her time was coming," Clay says, "she knew Alexia would be OK."
Clay still visits and volunteers regularly; most notably as one of the main architects of our Enchanted Village light display. He watches Alexia light up when she talks assuredly about becoming a staff member by 2035, and he doesn’t doubt her ability to accomplish her goal. "I don't think there are any limits at all to what she can accomplish," Clay says. "Sky's the limit."
For families still searching, still carrying that inner worry of what will happen, Clay's message is simple: Don't stop looking. Go investigate. Get involved. He and Debra spent years making sure that what they saw at Noah Homes was real. It was, and then some.
"If you keep moving forward and go through the correct doors at the right time," he says, "anything is possible."
Debra truly believed that more than anyone. And now, she rests in peace, knowing Alexia is loved, cared for, and exactly where she belongs...at Noah Homes.
Want to experience the welcoming and enduring community of Noah Homes that Clay and Debra experienced when they first visited? We encourage everyone to visit Noah Homes for a tour to see it all firsthand. You can book a tour here.