“What will happen to my child when I’m gone?”
This question haunts many parents of children with disabilities. The Big Wave Project offers reassurance to these parents, community to their children, and, above all, a solution to this bleak unknown.
Big Wave is a non-profit project whose mission is to establish a community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live and work. The project is based on a sunny, grassy, 20-acre lot near the Half Moon Bay Airport.
The beams of sunlight shining down on the Big Wave property reach a farm and garden where adults with special needs work. However, the residential aspect of Big Wave will not be established until the buildings in which residents will live are constructed, likely towards the end of 2023 or later.
While there is still work to be done, Big Wave has come a very long way since its start in 2000.
The concept of a live-work community for adults with special needs emerged some parents were watching their kids play basketball through Special Olympics, a sports organization for children and adults with disabilities.
“We got to talking about ‘What’s your plan for your child when they’re an adult, and you’re no longer here?’” said Kim Gainza, a Big Wave board member and mother of an adult with special needs.
But the parents came up short with a response, so they founded a community that would help answer the question for them.
Like Gainza, many Big Wave board members are related to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, which adds a personal dimension to Big Wave’s efforts.
“The most impactful part of our project is a sense of community for the future residents. It’s a place where they feel like they belong. They don’t feel like an outsider or an oddity,” Gainza said.
This sense of community echos beyond the property and throughout Half Moon Bay as local volunteers experience the environment of togetherness.
“Big Wave is a huge bonus for our community. We are one giant family on the coast and need a home for these important people. It gives them a place and a purpose,” said Kelly Hoffman Davis, a Half Moon Bay resident.
Davis is one of many locals who familiarized themselves with Big Wave through volunteer work.
“We’ve had hundreds of great volunteers,” said Jeff Peck, the CEO and founder of Big Wave.
Volunteers have been helping out on the Big Wave Farm and aiding construction projects since August 2020, when Big Wave broke ground on the property. Donations have also been crucial throughout the 22-year process.
Big Wave thanks its volunteers for their support by ensuring the preservation of their local land.
“We have a philosophy that our environment is very important to us,” Peck said. “That’s why we have organic farming and are restoring the wetlands. We have a huge love for the community in which we live.”
Environmental benefits and community engagement are important aspects of Big Wave’s work, but their primary goal is to foster an environment in which adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities will thrive.
“It will give them a sense of independence and safety, which is an opportunity everyone deserves,” Davis said.
