COMMUNITY OPTIONS

Community Options was incorporated in 1977 as a sheltered workshop for twenty-seven adults who had spent most of their lives at the Belchertown State School. This workshop was located in Belchertown, as part of a retail store that sold crafts made at the workshop, and from outside vendors. The goal of this workshop was to provide genuine employment for people with developmental disabilities who had never had a job before. For many this was their first opportunity to work in the community. This was a time of great change, with many state institutions closing, and more services being based on community integration. In 1981, it became clear that the workshop was still a congregated and segregated setting that actually hindered integration, and so it was restructured. The store itself remained, but each adult was found community employment according to his or her talents and interests... Community Options, Inc. is a private, non-profit agency that assists people with disabilities living..

Also known as: Community Options, Inc.