Yesodot's History

Mission
Yesodot strives to be a lifeline for Jewish families challenged by disability who live in the metro Boston area. Yesodot is committed to maximizing the potential and building community foundations (“yesodot”) for children and young adults by strengthening their families via a broad array of support programs and services.

History

The Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) initiated the idea for Yesodot a number of years ago with a series of discussions about self-determination with JVS and other community agencies, as part of its ongoing culturally specific self-determination initiative for people with developmental disabilities. Concerned that this population of families had been previously underserved, DMR, JVS, and the Jewish community partnered together to work with these families.

In October, 2000 the Jewish community hired the parent of a child with a developmental disability to assess interest in forming a family support program based on the culturally specific family support model envisioned by DMR, to locate families in the community, and to work with them to form a group. As a result of a number of planning meetings led by parents, Yesodot was formed and began programming in October 2001. Yesodot had an initial planning period, with a small amount of programming from the fall of 2000 through June 2001, and began full-time programming in the fall of 2001.

Yesodot has since broadened its scope and now includes families whose loved ones have a broad range of disabilities. Yesodot currently provides its families with approximately two events a month, year round. Yesodot works with families to help them develop their own internal resources and a network of interpersonal relationships, as well as with the broader community to enhance community participation and support.