Pine Tree Gardens East and West: A Community and Local Government Partnership

A Community and Local Government Partnership to Protect Housing for Adults Living with Serious Mental Illness in California

By Petrea Marchand

It started with a phone call from my Mom.

She told me the nonprofit which owned Pine Tree Gardens West and Pine Tree Gardens East, two group homes for 28 adults living with serious mental illness in Yolo County, California, had just announced their potential closure.

I grew up in a classic 1970s ranch house in a suburban neighborhood, blissfully unaware of how few people enjoy the luxury of a stable home, much less how difficult it is for people living with serious mental illness to maintain long-term housing. My family learned the hard way when my brother Noah, diagnosed in his 20s as suffering from bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms, needed a place to live. Unlike so many other families, my parents were lucky enough to secure a place for him at Pine Tree Gardens West, a group home on a quiet residential street a short drive from my parents’ house.

Pine Tree Gardens West was Noah's home for 10 years and home to dozens of other adults living with serious mental illness since the founding of the homes 40 years ago. The home provides 24-hour care, three meals a day, therapy, and other supportive services. Noah worked the job crew, helping people experiencing homelessness move into new apartments and other odd jobs that he thoroughly enjoyed; he also benefited from the independent living programs offered at the home, eventually "graduating" to his own apartment.

During the call, my Mom told me the mothers of the adult children living at Pine Tree Gardens East and West needed my help to save the homes. At the time, the homes were clean and modest; worn furniture; small, shared bedrooms decorated with personal mementos; a few old chairs in barren backyards for residents to enjoy the California sunshine. Working closely with the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and County staff, the Mom team saved the two homes. They also raised funds to create new outdoor spaces at both homes, full of flowers and plentiful seating, for residents to enjoy the California sunshine. During the landscaping process, local Rotary Club members built picnic tables, donated benches, and helped spread mulch. The process taught me partnerships between the community and local government not only can change outcomes - they meaningfully elevate outcomes.

This article provides background about the two Pine Tree Gardens homes, the Williams family who founded the homes, and the efforts of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, and the community to save the homes. May this story inspire others to roll up their sleeves, take action, and make a difference in local communities.

About Pine Tree Gardens

Pine Tree Gardens East and Pine Tree Gardens West are licensed adult residential facilities in Davis, California, providing permanent supportive housing for adults living with serious mental illness. Established in 1986, the homes have long served as a stable and caring residential option for individuals who need a supportive, community-based living environment.

Together, the two homes serve approximately 28 residents and are licensed by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, to provide 24-hour non-medical care and supervision. Services include assistance with activities of daily living, medication support, meals, housekeeping, and coordination with mental health and social service providers.

Located in residential neighborhoods, the homes offer a calm, familiar setting where residents can build routines, relationships, and a sense of belonging. Residents have private or shared bedrooms, shared common spaces, and access to outdoor areas, creating an environment that balances independence with support. The homes provide long-term housing stability, allowing residents to remain indefinitely while receiving the level of care they need.

The 28 residents are also supported by family members living in the Yolo County cities of Woodland, West Sacramento, Davis, and Winters; many people living with serious mental illness are placed far away from families, so these residents are lucky. For residents without family involvement, the Yolo County Public Guardian—appointed by the court—serves as their legal representative. The homes play a critical role in Yolo County’s continuum of care, ensuring adults with serious mental illness have access to permanent housing with appropriate, ongoing support.

About the Williams Family

The Williams Family helped to create the community mental health system in Yolo County, including founding the two Pine Tree Gardens homes. Pat and Bill Williams started the work to help their two sons living with serious mental illness, including personal donations of time, property, and money.

The Williams worked with Yolo County to create the “continuum of care,” the coordinated range of housing options to provide increasing or decreasing levels of assistance as needs change, by purchasing the Safe Harbor Crisis House, Haven House, Farmhouse, Be House, and Pine Tree Gardens East and West. The Williams fought to secure permits to site Pine Tree Gardens West and East in residential neighborhoods and secured approval with a 3-2 vote of the Davis City Council over community opposition.

Since the revenue from disability and other payments that adults living with serious mental illness receive from the government is insufficient to support permanent supportive housing, the Williams family continued to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money to the programs after establishing the continuum of care, as well as energetically raised money from the community. The Williams family also relentlessly advocated for improved services for people living with mental illness.

Pat Williams founded the Yolo County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this mission of which is to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness through education, advocacy, and community support. She also founded the Yolo Community Care Continuum, the nonprofit which operates the Safe Harbor Crisis House, Haven House, and Farmhouse, among other important facilities in the continuum of care.

Pat and Bill Williams’ daughter, Kathy Williams-Fossdahl, also supported this work and continued their legacy after their death by helping to save the two Pine Tree Gardens homes.

Key Actions to Establish and Sustain Pine Tree Gardens East and West

When Pat and Bill Williams finally retired from mental health work, they donated the two homes to a nonprofit, Turning Point Community Programs. As described in the timeline below, Turning Point Community Programs operated the homes until they announced their potential closure, triggering the successful partnership between the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and the community to save the homes.

The effort to save the homes started in 2019 with the formation of the Save Pine Tree Gardens Committee, a group of Moms and other citizens concerned about the potential home closure. The Committee also included Pat and Bill Williams' daughter Kathy Williams-Fossdahl. The Committee raised over $250,000 to support the homes; Kathy-Williams Fossdahl personally donated $1.3 million to purchase Pine Tree Gardens West from Turning Point Community Programs and $500,000 to fund Pine Tree Gardens West improvements, including solar panels, a new driveway, new walkways, and a new backyard patio. Yolo County purchased Pine Tree West for $850,000 from Turning Point Community Programs and committed $800,000/year to operate the homes.

Today, both homes are stable and continue to operate with ongoing funds from Yolo County. Residents can stay at the homes until the end of their lives, until they graduate to more independent living, or until they leave voluntarily. In 2025, the Save Pine Tree Gardens Committee evolved into the Thomson-Williams Mental Health Committee to continue their work to support the Pine Tree Gardens homes and other homes in the Yolo County continuum of care.

Pine Tree Gardens East and West Landscaping Project

When Yolo County and Kathy Williams-Fossdahl funded the purchase of the homes, the Save Pine Tree Gardens Committee used some of their donated funds to landscape the front and backyards of Pine Tree Gardens East and West, as well as placed some of the money in a permanent sustainability fund to help pay for ongoing expenses and programs to benefit residents. Most recently, the Committee paid $35,000 to replace the heating and air conditioning unit at Pine Tree Gardens West. Committee members volunteer every spring to help plant the backyard garden, which results in tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and other vegetables for staff to incorporate into meals, and help host bingo and other regular resident activities.