April 12, 2016 – Human Service agencies work hard to make residential programs feel as much like home as possible.  After all, that is the whole point: A home in the community for people with disabilities should be like any other.  Advocates, of Framingham, had the dual challenge of creating a home like environment and doing so in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way: its new home in West Roxbury would serve five men of Chinese descent.

Parents of individuals with developmental disabilities who were Chinese sought to work with Advocates, and the state in turn, in creating a new residence that would allow the individuals living there to stay fully connected to their culture.

The result is a residence that is imbued with Chinese culture, from meals served every evening to a Chinese New Year’s  celebration.  Staff is bilingual and fully immersed in the culture as well.  Parents and family members frequently join the five men for dinner and special events.  The residents seem to adapt particularly well to the setting and they regularly make progress toward their goals; the culturally familiar environment seems to provide an added level of support.

This program was featured in a front page story in The Boston Globe on January 2, 2016.