Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Mattie Homes is the latest project from Bethany Children’s Health Center, created to help address a growing need in our community: safe, affordable, and accessible housing for individuals with disabilities. Through our work with children and teens affected by injury or complex medical conditions, we witness the significant challenges that often accompany the transition to adulthood—particularly the lack of housing options that promote mobility and independence.
That’s where the Mattie Homes project comes in.
Our goal is to create real-world solutions for the young people we serve, and that vision became reality this summer with the completion of the first Mattie Home: a fully accessible transitional residence designed with former patient Dewayne Pollard in mind.
Dewayne was only 15 years old in 2019 when he experienced a serious car accident that resulted in a C4-C6 spinal cord injury. In the years since, he has worked hard to regain as much independence as possible.
“When my therapies came, I worked as hard as I could so I could try to get my independence back,” he shared in an interview.
After completing rehabilitation, Dewayne returned home—but like many young adults with mobility needs, he found that everyday environments weren’t built for someone using a wheelchair. Over time, he’s made great strides in self-reliance, including learning to drive with adaptive equipment designed for a quadriplegic. Still, the lack of accessible housing remained a major barrier to full independence for Dewayne and for many others like him.
Bethany Children’s saw an opportunity to help meet that need, starting with Dewayne, who will be the first to live in a transitional Mattie Home as he works toward living more independently. As CEO of Bethany Children’s Health Center Nico Gomez puts it, “The frustration with me is that society says, when you’re an adult, you’re on your own… We have an opportunity to demonstrate what it really means to value an individual, to value their independence.”
Built in partnership with Iron Bison Homes, the first home—known as the Dewayne Model—is located near Bethany Children’s campus. It features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fully ADA-inspired design, including wide doorways, a roll-in shower, lowered countertops, a drawer-style dishwasher, and smart appliances that support ease of use and safety for wheelchair users.
Mattie Homes reflects Bethany Children’s mission to serve with compassion and meet the needs of those in our care, and this Mattie Home is just the beginning. While applications are not yet open, our goal is to learn from this pilot project so we can create more adapted, affordable homes in the future, with the help of generous donors and community partners. We also plan to share renderings and blueprints that will allow others to replicate this vision in their own communities. Stay tuned for more updates on the progress of this exciting project.
Learn more: bethanychildrens.org/mattie-homes
Mattie Homes is the latest project from Bethany Children’s Health Center, created to help address a growing need in our community: safe, affordable, and accessible housing for individuals with disabilities. Through our work with children and teens affected by injury or complex medical conditions, we witness the significant challenges that often accompany the transition to adulthood—particularly the lack of housing options that promote mobility and independence.
That’s where the Mattie Homes project comes in.
Our goal is to create real-world solutions for the young people we serve, and that vision became reality this summer with the completion of the first Mattie Home: a fully accessible transitional residence designed with former patient Dewayne Pollard in mind.
Dewayne was only 15 years old in 2019 when he experienced a serious car accident that resulted in a C4-C6 spinal cord injury. In the years since, he has worked hard to regain as much independence as possible.
“When my therapies came, I worked as hard as I could so I could try to get my independence back,” he shared in an interview.
After completing rehabilitation, Dewayne returned home—but like many young adults with mobility needs, he found that everyday environments weren’t built for someone using a wheelchair. Over time, he’s made great strides in self-reliance, including learning to drive with adaptive equipment designed for a quadriplegic. Still, the lack of accessible housing remained a major barrier to full independence for Dewayne and for many others like him.
Bethany Children’s saw an opportunity to help meet that need, starting with Dewayne, who will be the first to live in a transitional Mattie Home as he works toward living more independently. As CEO of Bethany Children’s Health Center Nico Gomez puts it, “The frustration with me is that society says, when you’re an adult, you’re on your own… We have an opportunity to demonstrate what it really means to value an individual, to value their independence.”
Built in partnership with Iron Bison Homes, the first home—known as the Dewayne Model—is located near Bethany Children’s campus. It features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fully ADA-inspired design, including wide doorways, a roll-in shower, lowered countertops, a drawer-style dishwasher, and smart appliances that support ease of use and safety for wheelchair users.
Mattie Homes reflects Bethany Children’s mission to serve with compassion and meet the needs of those in our care, and this Mattie Home is just the beginning. While applications are not yet open, our goal is to learn from this pilot project so we can create more adapted, affordable homes in the future, with the help of generous donors and community partners. We also plan to share renderings and blueprints that will allow others to replicate this vision in their own communities. Stay tuned for more updates on the progress of this exciting project.
Learn more: bethanychildrens.org/mattie-homes
