Grass Valley, California

A community where everyone belongs, and everyone contributes.

For four years, Engaged Services has supported families across Nevada County navigating California's Self-Determination Program. Out of that work, a real, physical community has grown — and a larger vision, still being built with care.

130+
people supported directly through the Self-Determination Program
150+
families reached through our broader community-building outreach
12
consecutive weeks running for our weekly community gathering

Our Story

Engaged Services was founded to help families navigate California's Self-Determination Program — a real, if often confusing, path toward more choice and control over the services a loved one receives. What started as service coordination grew into something more: a real, physical gathering place, and a conviction that disability support works best when it's the center of a whole community, not a service delivered from the outside.

That conviction comes from lived experience, not theory alone. Our founder's own family has walked this road, and the vision we're building — the Village Storehouse — exists because the need for something better was personal before it was philosophical.

What's Real Right Now

The 551 Whiting Street Center

A real, operating community hub in Grass Valley — the physical heart of everything below.

A Weekly Market

Community members with and without disabilities sell what they grow and make, side by side.

A Coffee Shop

Run by community members, offering real, paid work experience — not a simulation of a job, an actual one.

Meaningful Conversations

Regular gatherings where families, supporters, and community members talk honestly about what's working and what isn't.

Self-Determination Navigation

Hands-on support helping families understand and use California's Self-Determination Program — from first steps to ongoing coordination.

Peer Connections

Relationships between people with disabilities and their neighbors, built through shared work and shared space — not arranged programming.

The Vision

The Village Storehouse

We're building something larger — a true village model where people with disabilities live, work, and belong alongside everyone else. Not a program. Not a facility. A place where the coffee shop is real, the jobs are real, the friendships are real, and the community is built around everyone's gifts, not anyone's deficits.

This vision is still being built. We share it here not as a promise, but as an honest account of where we're headed and why.

We'd love to hear from you

Whether you're a family navigating the Self-Determination Program, someone who wants to get involved, or just curious about what we're building — reach out.

© 2026 Village Storehouse / Engaged Services · Grass Valley, California