By Chris Wiens | Manager, Foundation & Donor Relations
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, we have had much to celebrate over the last 30 years. The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities is using the slogan “Life side by side” to celebrate the advances in community-based life for people with developmental disabilities.
Following our mission, Albertina Kerr has been at the forefront of community-based advances for people with developmental disabilities. Beginning in the 1970’s and continuing through the 1980’s, we were a leader of deinstitutionalization in Oregon. In 1976 we opened the Kerr Center for Handicapped Children (KCHC), which moved children out of the state institution and into a smaller, community-oriented center. We then opened our first neighborhood-based group home in Milwaukie in 1983. The home helped children who had aged-out of services at KCHC transition into a fuller community-based life, living side by side with their non-disabled peers. By 1989, 13 neighborhood-based group homes had opened and everyone living at KCHC had moved out, allowing for the closure of the facility.
In 2003 we significantly expanded group home services for youth with developmental disabilities. Just a year later, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed, which further opened opportunities for individuals with disabilities, guaranteeing appropriate education tailored to each student’s needs.
Albertina Kerr has routinely been ahead of social and legislative advances and we saw that again most recently in 2015 with our opening of the Project SEARCH program, a nine-month internship training program for people with developmental disabilities. Shortly after opening, the Lane v. Brown class action lawsuit was settled, giving people with developmental disabilities more opportunities to work in competitive employment instead of sheltered workshops.
Today, Albertina Kerr is helping make “life side by side” a reality for more than 550 youth and adults with developmental disabilities. We have been a leader in Oregon and are grateful for the work that has been done. We believe even more exciting advances are to come in ensuring that people with developmental disabilities live fuller lives as valued members of our community and we will continue to be a voice for those efforts.
You can lend your voice and participate in Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month on social media this month using #DDawareness17.
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