1. Involve more than one constituency all along the way.
2. Empower program participants to drive development.
3. Remain flexible to changing times and community needs.
4. Empower students as advocates for themselves and the program.
5. Stay helpful and highly visible in all sectors of the community, especially the medical and political sectors.
6. Stay helpful and highly visible in the college.

By the end of the first year enrollment had tripled. It soon became apparent that people with disabilities other than stroke wished to attend, and the program was expanded to include those with MS, Parkinson's, head trauma, spinal injuries, and other neurological and orthopedic difficulties. Morning hours were initiated and another day of instruction was added during the summer, when the elementary school was not in session. This was another example of breaking tradition. Blending disabilities in a group setting and breaking out of the mold of traditional Stroke Clubs contributed another key feature of the model.

The Stroke Center grew by leaps and bounds. It was truly an answer to unmet community needs. By the summer of 1976 it was obvious that the facility would no longer accommodate the number of people wishing to attend. Participants at the Center scoured the community with an open mind and found a large abandoned facility that others had determined was too costly and too challenging to “rehabilitate.” If rehabilitating broken bodies was possible, rehabilitating a mere building was not so daunting a task! The first, of what would become many opportunities, to practice political activism began here.

The City of Santa Cruz, at a meeting attended by 30 disabled people in wheelchairs and on crutches permitted the Center to renovate and move into an unused Naval Reserve Building building located on the edge of a city-run golf course in DeLaveaga Park. This local public park space had been willed to the city by an early philanthropist. However, after World War II, the building built on the site to house the Naval Reserve was never utilized by the city.

The City Council was happy not to have the building lay unused and continually subject to vandalism. They established rent at $1.00 a year. The caveat, however, is that the City has use of the building for Parks and Recreation classes during the evening, with the college assuming responsibility for any maintenance or repairs. This was and remains a win-win situation.

Left vacant after the war, the building had been badly vandalized. Again, various community groups, local government and the participants joined together to begin a process of repair and renovation that would continue until the present day. The Center expanded in both numbers and scope of service, growing from a small 13-student, one-afternoon-a-week program to a full-time program providing as many as 60 classes a week to more than 250 students with a wide variety of disabling conditions. Today, every one of the 16,000 square feet in the facility has been rehabilitated and is in use.

Over the years, several crises tested the commitment of the participants and the community. Each crisis was met with creativity and good will and resulted in both programmatic and building improvements. Excellent community relationships, strong political ties with elected officials, and above all, the passionate commitment of students and alumnae of the Center have rescued the model time and time again from a variety of challenges.

The first of these was the passage of the state property tax reform measure, Proposition 13. Many specialized education programs fell under the ax of severe funding cuts as California schools began their steep decline from the top to near the bottom of the nation’s school quality assessments. But, instead of destroying the program, this crisis added another powerful component to the model—full credit community college classes and curriculum.

In 1978, the Stroke Center was among the non-credit classes scheduled to be to be eliminated by the college in response to the funding reductions caused by Proposition 13. However, having already learned the effectiveness of grassroots political action, the students, their families and friends flooded the offices of the college president and the local Cabrillo and statewide Community College Board of Trustees. Within days, then State Assemblyman Sam Farr, (who would later as a US Congressman help the Center again), and State Senator Henry Mello crafted legislation that was ultimately passed into law protecting special classes for disabled students as long as they were full credit classes. When over 100 students in wheelchairs, walkers and canes, along and their families and friends showed up to lobby the college trustees, a decision was made to adjust standards and curriculum and thereby preserve the program.

This decision meant a revision of process and curriculum. New curriculum based on measurable goals summarized for each student in Individualized Educational Plans was formulated. To this day the IEP process continues to drive curriculum. Classes evolve and change to meet the needs of students enrolled at any given time.

At this turning point, the class structure was modified to correspond with the 50-minute class hours on the main college campus. From 1978 on, the Center has operated 4 days a week from 9:30 am until 2:00 pm. Daily attendance is taken and reported to the college on a positive hour basis.

Twice during the past several years groups of students have made the 3 hour journey to the state capitol to advocate directly for themselves and for the well-being of the program. They testified before a senate sub-committee the first time. Their request for special legislation to make it easier for other colleges to start programs was well-received and ended up passing both houses of the state legislature. It was, unfortunately later vetoed by Governor. Undeterred, they again made the trek, when community college funding was threatened in 2001. They spoke eloquently to a group of gathered lawmakers and met individually with their own representative, Assemblyman John Laird. This time their efforts along with the efforts of thousands of others succeeded. Both times were empowering to students. They have learned that they can and will be heard!

In 2001 and 2002 the students and staff at the Center campaigned to prevent three cell towers being placed in their back yard. A letter writing campaign and a late night presentation at the Santa Cruz City Council resulted in a win for the students. Equipment was added to the existing tower but the plan to build the other two was scrapped.

Students made the news in 2004 when those living at Pleasant Care, a local residential care facility needed to have a sidewalk installed. "We want a way to get to the bus stop at Seventh Avenue, which is a half-mile away, safely," said Kurtis Lempke, resident-council president and five-year resident of the home. "And a lot of people here do a lot of business on Soquel (Avenue)." " . . .as part of an empowerment class taught by the Cabrillo College Stroke Center, residents held a rally and traveled the treacherous route identifying problems and solutions along the way." Center students know what to do to get things done.

When college funding crises threatened the program in the mid 1990s and once again in 2003, students saved the day with public appearances, fierce letter writing campaigns directed to the editor of the local paper, to elected officials, and college administrators.

Throughout 2001 and 2002, a campaign to eliminate utility taxes swept the state. Santa Cruz local governments were among those targeted. Students attended both County and City meetings and wrote letters to the Editor describing the effect that huge budget shortfalls would have on the Center and on the other agencies that many of them utilize. The County’s tax was repealed, but similar taxes in the cities survived similar votes. Again, students were empowered to take an interest in the community and to make their voices heard.

Stroke Center student activists are so effective that the Center became a “poster child” for two highly successful college bond campaigns. The Center was featured in several stories and editorial columns in the local paper urging voters to pass the bonds. In 2004, Cabrillo’s bond was the only community college bond passed in the state that year.

Major building improvements came from crises also! First, the community stepped forward when the fire chief condemned the building in 1980. The community and local government commitment to the program that had been established from the birth of program and vigilant political activism again saved the day. Instead of closing the center, a fire official and fire truck were stationed at the Center, and $100,000.00 from local government and private donors was quickly raised to pay to have the building brought up to code.

In 1982, the legendary Santa Cruz floods occurred and despite being on a hill, the Center didn't escape. The patio drains became clogged and the main room, the halls and part of the office was flooded. Electricity and phones were out for days. A week later, there were still no phones, and the Center could not open without available emergency contact. Ham Radio operators came to the rescue, and for over a week, until the phones were restored, one of the Club members came with their radio to keep us in contact with the outside world whenever students were there.

The Loma Prieta earthquake, brought big chunks of the ceiling and all of the light fixtures down, as well as exposing long-covered asbestos insulation and flooring materials. FEMA money allowed for the removal of the asbestos, replacement of the ceiling lights, and the repainting of the interior of the entire facility.

During the next two decades the heating system in the aging building failed causing rotting floors and the need for lots of temporary fixes. The roof began to leak compounding the problem. Once again a combination of a generous community and college maintenance staff provided a new insulating roof on half of the building. Money was raised to complete the roof. Even though a new building on the main campus is on the drawing boards, a local business stepped in and repaired the roof at cost.

The Center’s name and logo reflect not only the evolution of the program’s structure, but also the ongoing commitment to a philosophy of inclusion, community, peer support, and perseverance. Initially the Center was called the Stroke Activity Center, reflecting the original participants, who were all stroke survivors. When the program became an integral part of the college, the name became the Cabrillo College Stroke Center. Finally, in response to the numerous students at the Center, whose disabilities were not stroke related, the current name, The Cabrillo College Stroke and Acquired Disability Center was chosen.

The program’s logo and motto both came from the hearts and hands of students. They are a reminder of the importance of direct involvement of participants to the success of any endeavor. The tall redwood tree logo was originally conceived by members of the Stroke Club, Esther and Wilber Carlson. The current logo was actually drawn in one of Center’s art classes by Jon Blanchette after his stroke. His non-dominant hand produced the beautiful and powerful image while he was a student at the Center in the 1970s. The motto, Love Spoken Here, came from another student, Francis Lund. Her needlepoint rendition hangs in the Center’s front hall. Francis attended the Center for three different periods of time during the 1980s.

The Center’s structure and stature have remained stable for over three decades. The fundamentals of mission, educational philosophy, goals, and the program’s place within the college and the larger community have remained essentially the same. And, although, the three directors have come from different backgrounds and have had different personal management styles, internal changes in the center have been fairly superficial. Most internal changes have come in direct response to student suggestions and expressed needs.

The original classes developed by therapists fresh from medical settings were fairly closely tied in structure and activities to their clinical origins. Classes have evolved steadily over the years. And the combined influence of 30 years in an educational setting, the recommendations of students, and the special skills and talents of staff have led to changes in curriculum and the addition and deletion of courses. For example, Computer Laboratory, Yoga, Silk Painting, Agility, Exploring Abilities, Lipreading, among others are all relatively recent additions. Other classes such as Crawling, Up From the Floor, Theater, Inner Space, and others have been eliminated, at least temporarily.

The most significant structural change came during the last five years when it was decided to allow students to attend the Center for as long as they felt was beneficial. Over the years students had individually requested this change. A tipping point was reached and student leaders worked with instructors to finally eliminate the two and four year mandatory end times.

The Center has remained focused on its mission and true to its roots throughout two major reorganizations of the college, three permanent and two interim college presidents, and three changes in internal leadership.

The founding president of Cabrillo College, Robert Swenson, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Stroke Center concept. It was through his office and support that the original college connection was made. However, unwavering support from college leaders is a precious comodity that has to be constantly nurtured. Every time there is a major change in leadership an intense education process has been immediately put in place.

Because it has been located off-campus and because our classes are so different from the mainstream, it has been critical for Center directors to consistently establish and maintain close and informative ties with the top administrators at the college and with main campus faculty. It has been equally important for Center staff to voluntarily assume positions of responsibility in college governance, to avoid isolationism. Center directors and staff have consistently served on Faculty Senate, the college teachers’ union and other key committees. Establishing close ties with more mainstream college faculty has proved to be vitally important throughout the Center’s history, especially in times of economic scarcity when programs that are little understood and that have limited internal popular support are more vulnerable than those whose mission and value are clearly understood by decision makers and those that influence them.

As early as 1985, allied health programs on the main campus began taking advantage of the “live laboratory” at the Center. Cabrillo’s nursing program initially had student nurses just formally observe the Center. Now, all nurses trained at Cabrillo experience their entire rehabilitation rotation at the center. Dental hygiene students visit the center to provide dental education and disclose possible undetected decay. These connections have strengthened ties with the main campus.

Cabrillo also provides a program in horticulture therapy. Students seeking careers in horticulture therapy join in the gardening classes at the Center. To date, they have planned and assisted in the renovation of one of the Center’s patios. Both horticulture and Center students learn from each other.

Currently, Center staff members are intimately involved in planning a new Wellness Center and Allied Health facility on campus. The entire Center program will be housed there, with construction scheduled for 2008. Proximity and commitment to a new facility will weave the program much more tightly into the fabric of the college.

In 1986, President Reagan cut off Revenue Sharing funds to all local cities and counties (State Revenue Sharing funds having been cut several years ago). Agencies and organizations in the county that had depended upon such funds were devastated. Those in the human services fields in Santa Cruz County, banded together and formed a coalition called the Human Care Alliance. As a group they went to the governments of four cities and the County and asked each entity to pay a proportionate share of the lost monies, thus enabling the agencies to continue providing services. We at the Center were particularly favored, and received almost the full amount requested. The Human Care Alliance is still in existence today. Member agencies meet monthly, advocate for each other, lobby for continued and sometimes additional funding and assure that the community’s safety net remains intact.  All three center directors have been active in the Alliance. Caroline Bliss-Isberg served as President of the Alliance for two years in the mid 1990s.

Funds from local jurisdictions have continued to flow without interruption because of the work of the Alliance. Active participation in the Alliance assures that strong political ties with local elected officials are maintained and also serves as an outlet for students to participate in local government, gaining priceless experience in advocacy for seniors and those living with disabilities.

The medical community has been involved in the Center since its inception. The Center has always been an extension of, rather than a substitution for medical services. All students come with direct input from their physician. The local hospital’s Rehabilitation Center is a strong supporter and advocate for the Center. As Medicare and private insurance support for rehabilitation shrinks, the service provided at the Center becomes a medical and ethical imperative.

Consistent effort is put forth to keep the medical community involved in the Center. Presentations are made annually on Grand Rounds at local hospitals, and materials are made available to all relevant doctors offices and clinics.

Physicians have always been members of the Center’s Advisory Board. And, Dr. Robert Quinn, Medical Director of the local Rehabilitation Center is a frequent speaker at Honors Day, the Center’s graduation ceremony. In addition, he has always willingly assisted in political advocacy efforts on behalf of the Center.

Historically, funding has always been fraught with challenges. But, over thirty years those challenges have always been met. Fleeting attempts were made by directors to increase funding using outside agencies. Edie Nelson worked with Easter Seals for a while in 1986, but the difficulties of a nationally-affiliated non-profit working with a locally governed community college made the arrangement too difficult to manage. Caroline Bliss-Isberg attempted to increase funding tapping MediCal administrative funds in the 1990s. This too was too unwieldy to manage without having a negative effect on the program. The best funding, external to the college, has consistently come directly from local grassroots efforts.

Primary funding for the program comes from community college disabled students funds. The other source of substantial consistent funding is from the County of Santa Cruz and the cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola and Scotts Valley. Both of these sources have continued uninterrupted for over 30 years, because of the success of the program, its popularity throughout the community, and its active participation in the Human Care Alliance.

A notable example of the general community’s regard is that sometimes individuals leave money to the Center despite never having attended themselves. In 2005, a major bequest of $400,000.00 was left to the Center by a local business woman, Rina Perlino. Neither she nor her husband ever attended the Center, but they wanted their estate to benefit the elderly, the poor and children.

Throughout the entire history of the Center, students and their families, whether wealthy community philanthropists or those with moderate or in some cases very restricted means, have generously helped to raise the funds necessary to keep the program healthy.

Almost every student and family member actively participates in many of the annual fundraisers ranging from art exhibits, holiday appeals, jewelry and garden sales to bowling. These fundraising activities are critical to the program for both financial and public relations reasons.

In 1982, an Auxiliary was formed as a private nonprofit organization specifically to raise money to support building repairs and operations at the Center. Auxiliary members are primarily friends of the Center, rather than students or family members. Their fundraising appeals tap a different constituency, broadening the base of the annual funding requirements.

Instead of the usual holiday party in 2005, the Stroke and Acquired Disability Center celebrated its 30th birthday. All three directors made presentations and a historical perspective was also presented by Rhodna Simoni, the current instructor with the longest tenure at the Center. It was an exciting day with leaders from the college, the medical, business and political communities in attendance to celebrate their joint achievement.

It was a celebration of more than just the existance of a successful agency. It was a celebration of the power of community, the resiliancy of elders, the goodwill of many, and the determination and committment of people dedicated to the common good.

The Cabrillo College Stroke and Acquire Disability Center is an example of genuine foresight, the foresight in 1975, long before our nations health care crisis was identified, to become part of the solution!