Pine Tree Gardens East, located on 1214 E. Eighth St., was founded in April 1988. The mother of two sons who suddenly became mentally ill at the age of 17, Williams has a keen understanding of the tragedy of seeing someone you love become mentally ill and the inability of the patient to undertake certain tasks and situations. Many can't put it together and providing a good quality home allows them to have a structured life, feel useful, and live normally in a group setting. The residents of Pine Tree Gardens have a meeting every Monday. This Self-Help Group discusses a different topic every week.
All clients eat meals together, have daily morning meetings and weekly therapy sessions.
We have a lot going on and part of living here is that you have to participate in some activities. When they do participate however, they have a great time. From creative writing, dance and art classes to bingo, sing-along and band jam, the activity leaders at Pine Tree Gardens, many of whom come from the Davis community and volunteer to work with the residents, coordinate a variety of events. Students interested in designing a new activity or helping with existing ones can contact Pine Tree Gardens, which is looking for volunteers and interns to help with their programs. One UCD student, English major Dan Spurgeon, participates in the band jam, a weekly event during which he and the residents play music together.