Rose Garden Resident

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Capernaum Project addition is set to open despite financial shortfall

By Eli Segall

They may not be able to call 1123 Hanchett Ave. home in time for the holidays, but members of the Rose Garden-based Capernaum Project aren't letting that stop them from getting together.

For more than a year, the nonprofit program, which offers socializing opportunities for mentally and physically handicapped children, has operated from a temporary home next door at Westminster Presbyterian Church while its quaint 1920s headquarters has undergone renovation work.

The group broke ground for the two-story, 3,200-square-foot addition last year with a move-in date of June 2006. Delayed San Jose city permit approvals and an extended rainy season squashed the plans, pushing the project six months behind schedule. Since renovations began, the group has chipped away at its operating funds, and construction costs have increased.

Capernaum now stands $179,000 short of completing the job, but founder Nick Palermo is optimistic the work will be completed by the end of this month. If the program runs out money, the nonprofit Young Life will kick in any additional funds, Palermo said. However, money borrowed must be paid back in full.

"The dream is there--the building is there. Now we just need the money," said Shelley Smith, Capernaum Project's area director for Santa Clara Valley.

Palermo, a West San Jose resident, founded this one-of-a-kind organization 20 years ago as an offshoot of Young Life, a Colorado-based Christian youth ministry organization. Unlike other groups nationwide that focus on health and education services, Capernaum has a unique mission--it offers a strictly social environment.

"The opportunity for handicapped teens to socialize is almost nonexistent," Palermo said. "For many, this is their only outlet."

That outlet involves everything from dancing and cooking classes to movies and sporting events.

The renovations will give Capernaum more space for such activities, including a network of wheelchair-accessible rooms, an elevator, a renovated kitchen and two accessible bathrooms.

Yet for those who frequent the Capernaum Project, the group offers a lot more than just a place to have fun.

"With the new building, it's almost like a new home," said Manny Flores, 18, a Capernaum regular who has cerebral palsy. "Some people don't know what it's like to have my problems. The people here, they don't look at me differently like other people do.

"They're like family to me," he added.

If Capernaum's current shortfall is not met, the group will have limited funds for building repairs and maintenance, programs and transportation.

The group will then start deficit fundraising, a potential black hole for nonprofit groups, which already operate on shoestring budgets.

To plug the hole, Palermo and staff have applied for grants, courted wealthy philanthropists and searched far and wide for helping hands.

"Until I started doing this, I never saw things the way I do now," said Smith. "My world has changed, and the way I look at the world has changed."

For more information about The Capernaum Project, call 408.286.3433.