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Three young women with developmental disabilities moved into their new home located in Saugus, MA, bringing with them high energy and a keen interest to explore their new community. The residential program offering support on a 24-hour basis is one of only a very few that have opened in recent years in eastern Massachusetts. Cooperative For Human Services continually uses a creative problem-solving approach to design  services for people with disabilities and housing is a critical component of these services. The four-bedroom  home is located in an upscale residential neighborhood near parks, shopping, entertainment and civic venues that serve as a springboard for individuals to connect to their new community. The women are supported by a veteran team of clinicians, healthcare professionals and direct support staff who are focused on…

  Cooperative for Human Services closely follows its twelfth Guiding Principle, “Work in partnership with others to maximize resources and alleviate duplication of effort” by continually seeking out new technologies to achieve its goals. Currently, the company serves as Representative Payee for over 150 individuals in its Residential, Individual Support Services and Guardianship programs. This requires CHS to manage, monitor, and document by hand, all spending of each individual’s monthly Social Security funds, other income and monetary gifts. Historically, this financial process had been a de-centralized process monitored by field managers responsible for oversight of individual funds through direct access to the person’s bank account. On a regular basis, managers accessed and distributed spending funds to each individual, reconciled receipts and provided education to the individuals served about positive budgeting…

On an unusually warm February evening, during the ride back to their apartment, Sonja mentioned that their wedding anniversary was coming up in June and that it would be big one.  “It’s 30 years”, she told me. “Really?!”, I asked, “do you guys want to do anything?” “Yes”, said Bob, “we want to renew our wedding vows”. I tried hard not to hit the car in front of me. And that’s how The Wedding of the Century came to be (actually, The Second Wedding of the Century). Sonja and Bob are attached to the Cooperative for Human Services (CHS) whose mission reads, in part, to “…provide programs and services that support community inclusion, personal enrichment and quality of life for individuals with intellectual, developmental and related disabilities…” On June 15,…

Cooperative For Human Services announced that it received renewal of its two-year License and Certification from the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS), Office of Quality Enhancement.  The company met 100% of the required licensing indicators and 98% of the certification indicators, which continues the organization’s legacy of achieving consecutive, outstanding ratings for over a decade. In a published report released by the Department of Developmental Disabilities, numerous commendations were noted including, “All of the people surveyed were very well supported to maintain relationships with family and friends. Of particular note was staff knowledge and support for people's friend and family relationships.  Staff were very knowledgeable about who was important in people's lives and were instrumental in maintaining relationships.”   The commendations also focused on the organization’s use of technologies that…

The Cooperative for Human Services would like to wish you a Happy Father's Day! We are so grateful for all that you do each and every day. Thank you!

Northeast Region of Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change is delighted to invite primary caregivers of young children (birth to age 10) who have developmental disabilities, chronic illnesses, and/or complex medical needs to apply! Advocacy Bootcamp builds foundational advocacy skills so that participants can empower their children to lead rich, meaningful, and exciting lives. All application materials must be submitted by August 1st, 2018. Space is limited. For more information visit http://mfofc.org/advocacy-bootcamp/ To apply visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefvnqrOM3gTRLvSATMp2xagVgDqoweUpIzpQjS2LsXWWbOsQ/viewform

On May 10, 2018 members of The Arc of Massachusetts conducted their annual meeting and recognized Kevin J. Leahy, Executive Director of The Cooperative for Human Services, Inc. for his industry leadership in the field of human services and his lifelong achievements in sustained advocacy. The Arc of Massachusetts, founded more than 60 years ago, is a charitable organization which represents the interests of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Kevin accepted the Leadership Award and addressed the audience by reminding them of the courage and passion of a small group of families, led by progressive mothers, who dared to envision a very different life for people with developmental disabilities. At a time when only institutionalization was offered, these families stubbornly held to their vision of a more…

Each year seniors from Malden Catholic High School complete 90 hours of community service before graduation. Seniors Rory O'Donnell and Aidan Walters-Doyle chose to help out at the CHS Jackson Farm for three weeks this Spring. Alongside Charlie Radoslovich, our new Farm Manager, these young men completed many tasks helping CHS prepare for the summer season, including building new organic beds for vegetable seedlings, planting flowers for the new butterfly garden, and helping to landscape a new CHS Rose Garden in memory of individuals that have passed. They also had a chance to get to know some of our farm animals including our Nubian goats, rabbits, and chickens. We are delighted that we were able to provide this opportunity for these seniors and look forward to future partnerships with Malden…

  On Saturday, April 21, 2018 Sydney Soloway, now a graduating senior at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA, organized and hosted the 4th annual SquashCares event. As a 14-year-old, Sydney was an avid squash player who also wanted to contribute to her community. Sydney began to recycle used equipment for those less fortunate but realized that the small rubber balls could not be reused. After some research, she discovered that she could sew the balls into fabric to create a weighted blanket. She gave the first blanket to her Autistic cousin who found it to be comforting and calming and this was how SquashCares was born. Soon after, Syndey approached CHS to become a recipient of some blankets and the relationship continued. Each Spring, Sydney organizes a large sewing…