The painters were all volunteers.
Today was day two and they tell us that it was the collaboration between all of them that allowed them to get work done.
The supported living complex, named ‘Midstep,’ is owned by Southern Oregon Aspire, which supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Meghan Boehm is the CFO of Southern Oregon Aspire and says that buildings like ‘Midstep’ are focused on giving tenants independence.
Boehm said, “the goal is to use it as more as a transitional place, where people can come in. They get to independently live here and build their life skills. We provide them with supports they need to be able to live independently.”
But they tell me the building they bought in 1984, was long overdue for a renovation.
From there, the company, ‘Grants Pass Painting’ reached out and offered to help repaint the building.
Afterwards, six other businesses joined in on the collaboration: from other paint stores providing volunteers and supplies, to pressure washing.
Anthony Hauckes is the development director for Southern Oregon Aspire, he got to see the work come to fruition.
Hauckes said, “scraping off the old paint, getting everything prepped and ready to go for today. This morning they started off with covering windows and masking items that needed to be masked off. And from there, they’ve just been hustling [and] spraying.”
‘Grants Pass Painting’ owner Stephen Edwards, was the one that started the whole group effort.
He says he was inspired by Southern Oregon Aspire’s cause.
Edwards said, “my sister, she’s got cerebral palsy and she has a similar living situation. So, that hit really close to my heart. I was like ‘I can totally relate.’ The company does well and I feel like we need to give that back.”
The residents are also very excited to have a new look and feel to their homes.
Jason Adair has lived at ‘Midstep’ for nearly a year and is not missing the old blue the building was.
Adair said, “it’s a lot better, we’ve been wanting new color for this place. Because when we would look at the blue, we would say it definitely needs new paint.”
The crews are expected to finish their work today, something they say would not be possible without the large group effort.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.