We are very pleased to announce that the NWDSA has a new home! As of June 1, 2007, we have established our “world headquarters” at 6826 NE Glisan Street in Portland Oregon. It is just down the street from Providence Hospital. We are excited to be able to have a centralized home for our resources, files, information systems, a meeting place, and a location to support the work of NWDSA.

Although it is a storefront location, it really will serve as a home base, and not as an “office or clinic”. It will not have the look and feel of a boring, drab, colorless office. Instead it will have bright colors, lively decorations, pictures of our kids, a space for children to play, storage for our large collection of resources, and an area to conduct meetings. We are a parent driven organization, and we see it first and foremost as a support center for our work.

We are excited by this opportunity to centralize our efforts, and we appreciate the help of our community and especially our business friends, who have made this move a reality. A big thank-you to Charles McCleod, owner of the business next door, PC Paramedix, who is sub-letting the space to us at a discount rate. Many thanks also to NWDSA Board members, Christy Reese, Angela Jarvis-Holland, Jen Brandse, and Jamie Burch for their work in cleaning, painting, decorating, and for sourcing the furnishings.

On July 21st, we had an open house and celebration for our families and friends. We met some new families and “christened” our new home. The star guest was a 9 day old baby with Down syndrome who captured the hearts of everyone there. In the fall we will have a more formal open house and will invite other groups and agencies to visit with us.