Matt's Place Foundation Inc., a Coeur d'Alene-based nonprofit that provides resources and housing to people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is raising awareness this summer of the need for accessible housing in the Inland Northwest through an inaugural showcase event, dubbed Matt's Place Summit: Innovation + Design Showcase.

Matt's Place co-founder Theresa Whitlock-Wild says the showcase will bring together professionals involved in various industries including health care, construction, sustainability, clean energy, architecture, engineering, adaptive technology, startups, and other industries to think about housing accessibility as an immediate need.

"Creating or finding tangible solutions that could offer help immediately is absolutely vital," Whitlock-Wild says. "It's estimated that this disease and others like it, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, and other neurodegenerative (conditions) will increase by 70% by 2040."

The innovation and design showcase will be held 1-4 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at an outdoor plaza at Washington State University Spokane's campus, located at 412 E. Spokane Falls Boulevard, in Spokane's University District. 

A day of innovation and connection is planned with over 40 local and national vendors who will showcase innovative products and services surrounding sustainability, accessibility, affordability, and biophilic design. A roundtable discussion will be held 3:15-4 p.m.  

Andrew Hite, co-founder and marketing director at Spokane-based Tribe Media Lab SPC, is helping coordinate and promote the event. 

He says the discussion will include industry experts such as Whitlock-Wild who will speak to the needs of the ALS community; Matt's Place board member and Spokane entrepreneur Andy Barrett will speak about lean manufacturing and sustainability; and Russ Vaagen, CEO of Colville, Washington-based Vaagen Timbers LLC, who will talk about cross laminated timber and the benefits for housing and forest health. 

Additional speakers include Craig Crowley, chief operating officer at the Spokane office of DCI Engineers; Brian Court, partner at Seattle-based architecture and planning company The Miller Hull Partnership LLP; and Jeremiah Shakespeare, vice president and division manager at the Spokane office of Swinerton Builders.

"The idea is that if someone sits there and listens, and knows nothing about this or us ... can get it. It fits really well with Spokane, where over the last five years, Spokane has become a little bit of a leader in sustainability," Hite says. "We're bringing  all of these puzzle pieces together as building blocks under one roof to see what happens."

Tickets already are sold out for the 6 p.m. Croquet and Rose Dinner, hosted by Spokane-based Design for the PPL, to be held at the Edna Mae Brown manor, in Spokane. The fundraising dinner will highlight Matt's Place Foundation's vision for ALS-friendly living environments.

The following day, Friday, July 12, Matt's Place will host the ALS Golf Classic, at MeadowWood Golf Course, at 24501 E. Valleyway, in Liberty Lake at 1 p.m.

All proceeds will help people with ALS and their families, says Whitlock-Wild. 

"All of our money goes right back out to these families," she says. "We generally will give out about $50,000 to $60,000 a year."

While Matt's Place is focused on helping those with ALS, the innovation and design showcase will benefit people with other neurodegenerative conditions as well, says Barrett, who serves on the board for Matt's Place Foundation and is on a committee to help organize the upcoming innovation and design showcase.

"What's unique is we're bringing groups of people that normally don't communicate with one another together," says Barrett. "These homes that we're building have to be accessible, but they also have to be affordable, and at the same time they need to be net zero, and it needs to be biophilic inside for the occupant. But we've found a lot of those different parties are not communicating. Our goal is to bring these people together ... to develop that housing solution that we need so badly." 

Biophilic design is a concept referring to the relationship between people and the natural environment and includes exposure to natural wood, light, and clean air in the home.

Housing developments often miss combining all of these elements at one property, he says.

"In my past, I haven't been able to get all of those together at the same time. I've built some really cool homes that might be net zero, but they're not affordable, and they might not be accessible," Barrett says.

Housing accessibility and affordability could be improved with partnerships forged with homebuilders, building materials suppliers, and adaptive technology. Net zero housing also will help affordability by saving on utility costs through solar technology and regenerative landscapes that require less water usage at residences. 

"I don't know what will come out of the innovation and design summit but I know there will be a lot of good discussion, we'll gain some more momentum, and we'll bring more people to have a seat at the table," says Barrett. "I'm passionate about ALS patients and their families, but the bigger picture here is also accessibility for all. (We're) going to get old at some point and we're going to have accessibility issues."

After the conclusion of the Matt's Place Summit, the organization's goal is to foster connections with other developers and develop additional housing opportunities later this year.

According to Whitlock-Wild, the event is already a success.

"(We're) bringing together the people that would touch the lives of these families to start creating innovative solutions that can make an impact today, until drug research gives us a cure," she says. "We're really pushing to get people to just come check it out, even if they only came from 1-3 p.m. and walked around to see some of the products and ideas."

Tickets for Matt's Place Summit are available through mattsplacefoundation.org for $25.