Share the Spirit: Meet the Bay Area nonprofit creating housing for people with special needs

At age 38, Jennifer Thomas is leading a life more full than many.

When she’s not working at an East Bay grocery store, she’s tending a garden, honing her music skills and learning recipes to cook. An athlete who’s medaled in track and field and javelin throwing, she helped her bocce team snatch bronze at the Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games in 2024.

And when she’s not doing all that, she’s kicking back with her friends at Irby Ranch, an affordable-housing community in Pleasanton for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD).

“I have lived at Irby Ranch for five years now — I was one of the first residents,” Thomas says. “I actually lead some of the activities there, like a jam session where I bring my own guitar. That’s kind of cool.”

Irby Ranch