Home of Our Own

10/13/2026

Hello HOOO peeps - come join us Wednesday night from 4-7 at Culver's New Glarus. Ten percent of proceeds will go to HOOO! Enjoy a delicious butterburger or cheese curds, and make a difference at the same time!

10/11/2026

Wow, Haven on Main is now open, the dreamchild of Haven for Special People and Couleecap, Inc. Home of Our Own was privileged to stand alongside the founding board of Haven for Special People from the beginning. Their group visited Prairie Haus many times as they were planning for their own inclusive and affordable rental complex in LaCrosse, and we had many in depth conversations about best practices, process, and features that could really benefit the population they are now serving.

It was an honor to attend Haven's grand opening this week. We ran into friends and stakeholders, including Michael Rea of the Michael & Brandy Rea Family Foundation, representatives of Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and developer Gerard Corporation, and most importantly -- several brand new tenants, who are excited to finally live independently in their own apartments.

Congratulations to all, especially to founding board members Terry Cowgill, Curtis Malone, Jody Lyon, Rick Diermeier, Julie Diermeier, and also Couleecap Executive Director Hetti Brown. I knew from the moment you visited Prairie Haus that you would make this happen!

10/07/2026

The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities shared an update today about proposed CDC rule that would remove many disability-related questions from a federal demographic survey. The survey was designed to insure that people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities are counted. See survey link below. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about/index.html

Advocates say removing these questions will result in people with I/DD being undercounted. The lower the ID/DD count, the fewer the funds allocated to a given state.

Please consider submitting public comment on the CDC proposal by Oct 20th. You can talk about questions you think should not be removed or should be added to make sure people with I/DD are counted.https://wi-bpdd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Commenting-on-the-NHIS-Survey-Changes-Tips-and-Tricks-September-2026.pdf

Advocates can make sure their U.S. House member and U.S. Senators know why making sure people with I/DD are accurately counted is important. https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Learn about the nation's largest and oldest household health survey

09/21/2026

We're honored to share that Home of Our Own has received a grant from the Green Bay Packers Foundation! This support will help us better meet the needs of neuro-divergent tenants at Prairie Haus by creating a sensory space that can calm or stimulate the nervous system, depending upon the person's needs at that moment. Thank you to the Packers Foundation for investing in our community and helping us continue to make a difference! Packers Outreach

09/19/2026

Countdown to takeoff. Staging is starting to be in place for construction for Prairie Haus II, site is completely mowed, and electrical markings complete.

Fifty + units marketed towards a 55+ population. Maybe a Monday start?

09/18/2026

This week, HOOO was delighted to host Prairie Haus tenants, caregivers, and area first responders for our annual gathering. New Glarus Police Department, New Glarus Fire Department, Green County WI Sheriff's Office, and Sugar River EMS staff socialized with tenants and enjoyed dinner from Pancho & Lefty's and ice cream treats from Rockin' Ryan's Ice Cream. New Glarus Lions Club helped out with serving food.

The highlight, as always, was the number of first responder vehicles for all to explore, including a new fire truck, police and EMS vehicles. Some tenants won't return to their apartments until all trucks have flashed their lights, sounded their sirens, and pulled out of the parking lot. It's always a fun night!

09/03/2026

Can't wait to see Haven for Special People and Haven on Main cross the finish line!

WE'RE ALMOST HOME!
Haven on Main, supported by Haven for Special People, is opening soon, and it's because of our generous donors! Thank you!
Couleecap, Gerrard Corporation, Our Sheltered Friends Foundation, Laux Family, Kyle & Lainie DeMars, Wieser Brothers and Dave & Barb Skogen.

09/03/2026

We wanted to give a shout out to Wicked Awakening Coffee, which has an awesome coffee trailer that has visited Prairie Haus a few times now. For a recent three hour stretch on a Friday morning, tenants and caregivers got to enjoy a free latte, coffee, or energy drink of their choice. HOOO enjoys treating tenants and caregivers to something special they might not otherwise enjoy or find it easy to pay for. And we get to support a local business while we do it.

We will have you back!

09/03/2026

The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities will be hosting a series of virtual focus groups to hear from people who use the IRIS program or the legal decision maker for someone in IRIS. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is making a change to have one Fiscal Employer Agent (FEA) support the whole IRIS program instead of multiple FEAs. BPDD wants to hear about your experiences and thoughts about how to make this a successful change.

Provide your input via this link:

08/25/2026

Abel the therapy dog is getting more familiar with Prairie Haus tenants during his monthly visits and vice versa.

He even came over last week and enjoyed a "pup cup" from a visiting coffee trailer that was made available to tenants! Wicked Awakening Coffee