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A place to belong for adults with special needs

We are a parent-driven Bay Area non-profit in San Mateo County, creating a unique community and building an enduring home for our adult children with special needs.

Our shared vision is a lifetime solution of purpose, individual choice, and lifelong friendships for our children, where they can thrive in a community of their peers.

Our goal is for our children to be able to live in a safe haven that will be there for them when we no longer can be.

Video by: Nueva Social Impact Filmmaking Club (SIFC) students at The Nueva School

Having spent most of my career teaching, developing, and managing programs in the special needs community throughout the Bay Area…what’s been missing is meaningful housing…a place these special young adults can call their own.

Empowering our residents to reach their full potential

More than just a place to live, Big Wave is a place to gather, make friends, learn new skills, and find joy for adults with special needs of all different backgrounds, ability levels, and ages.

Future residents will be able to choose their individual daily schedules consistent with a supported living model.

Many will go off-site to day programs, take classes, or engage in volunteering, and some will work. They might grow vegetables and flowers, feed the chickens, and enjoy nature on our community farm which serves adults with special needs from all over the Bay Area.

Residents may optionally attend the Culinary Academy and Day Program operated by our ground floor tenant, the non-profit One Step Beyond, which serves Bay Area adults with special needs.

The beach and harbor, which is near the Big Wave Campus, will provide residents with a host of recreational opportunities in a coastal setting, integrated into the greater community.

What our community is saying about Big Wave...

Here the local residents will thrive because they have choices about how they want to spend each day.

Many locals from different walks of life are coming together to support this community.

The Big Wave team has poured their hearts and souls into this project for many years.

Big Wave is a healthy place to build relationships with peers. It’s adaptive. Parents are the stakeholders.

The owners of Big Wave are sensitive to the fragile ecosystem of the land.

These are excellent people trying to do something incredible.

Given the increase in diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder alone, one in fifty-four children, we need these intentional communities now.

A community where everyone matters

Our future residents have a wide range of neurodiverse diagnoses from autism to Down syndrome, developmental delay, brain tumor survivor, and Williams syndrome.

But they are not defined by their disabilities. They enjoy art, music, sports, animals, camping, academics, reading, cooking and more.

Like everyone, they want opportunities for social and educational enrichment, community engagement, skills training, employment, and financial sustainability. Many love to engage with the volunteers that come to our Farm. And all want to achieve their highest potential.

And that’s why we created Big Wave.