ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT

A Massachusetts Disability Services Agency is Pioneering a New Model for Inclusion That Can Help Revitalize Local Malls

Northeast Arc

BY JO ANN SIMONS

In 2018, the leadership at Northeast Arc began envisioning a new approach to our agency's community-facing programs. We pondered a series of questions: Could we create a setting where individuals with disabilities acquired new skills, gained confidence and emerged as more active participants in their communities? Could we redefine what inclusive spaces looked like? Could this be centrally located in an area with access to public transportation?

The answers to those questions resulted in the Center for Linking Lives, 26,000 square feet of previously unused retail space at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, Massachusetts that have now been redeveloped into a welcoming environment where individuals with disabilities can reach their full potential.

The Center for Linking Lives represents the latest innovation for an organization that has been working since 1954 to help individuals with disabilities become full participants in their communities.

Northeast Arc was founded by parents of children with developmental disabilities who wanted to provide inclusive opportunities for their sons and daughters. The organization created the systems that enabled children and adults with disabilities to attend public schools, develop friendships, reside in the neighborhoods of their choice, and to earn a paycheck. Over the past eight decades, the agency's programs have expanded to support children and adults requiring a broader range of support, including people with autism and physical disabilities. Today, Northeast Arc serves more than 15,000 in nearly 200 cities and towns across Massachusetts. The Center for Linking Lives is a natural continuation of our agency's work, and we are introducing this innovative concept during an inflection point for disability service agencies and for malls.

Agencies like ours are providing essential services and programs to a growing number of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: According to estimates by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six children in the U.S. today has a developmental disability and the incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the U.S. has been on a steady increase since 2004.

At the same time, changing buying habits and the ease of online shopping are re-shaping malls across America. This transition is driving mall owners and tenants to reimagine these spaces, from strictly retail destinations to vibrant community centers. Northeast Arc is now part of this transformation at the Liberty Tree Mall.

The Center for Linking Lives will bring programming for individuals with disabilities directly into the community while redefining what shared community spaces look like. Access to stores, restaurants, services, and potential jobs in the mall will increase opportunities for both real independence and inclusion for the individuals served by Northeast Arc. We believe this is a transformational and replicable model for the future of malls around the United States.

The Center will address the physical and social isolation that are at the root of the poorest outcomes for people with disabilities: 80% of individuals with disabilities are not included in the workforce; 50% of this population are suffering from chronic loneli ness; and people with disabilities are at an exponentially higher risk for health problems due to a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional awareness.

This isolation has only been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when individuals with disabilities have lost jobs that provided critical community connections, have been cut off from friends, and have spent long hours alone in their homes.

At Northeast Arc, inclusion has always been our "new normal" and the Center for Linking Lives is the embodiment of that philosophy.

Instead of providing services in a remote office park, Northeast Arc is now able to offer services in the heart of the community it serves, at a central location easily accessible by public transportation – a critical component, since nearly all of the individuals supported by Northeast Arc do not drive. The Center for Linking Lives also brings a range of services together under one roof: support for families who have children diagnosed with autism or other intellectual disabilities, early intervention, residential and health services, supported employment, and skills training. By breaking down physical barriers between programs, the Northeast Arc is better able to drive connections between all programs, improving the services we can provide to the individuals we serve.

The space itself is innovative with an eye towards a post-pandemic world:

• There is an assistive technology lending library to train individuals on the latest digital technologies as well as innovative devices that assist with cognitive, physical, and emotional impairment.

• The Ellard Family Test Kitchen provides experimental learning of basic food preparation in a controlled setting – a necessary life skill for individuals hoping to live independently.

• Small meeting rooms allow for one-on-one speech or cognitive therapies or mock interviews to prepare job seekers to meet with potential employers.

• Ample group space allows for easier collaboration with coworkers while providing options for recreational and other activities.

• Employees working remotely can take advantage of "hotel" spaces where they can work temporarily if they need to be on site for a meeting or event.

TESTING, TESTING: The Ellard Family Test Kitchen provides experimental learning of basic food preparation in a controlled setting — a necessary life skill for individuals hoping to live independently.

For individuals and families served by Northeast Arc, the new space represents the opportunity for new experiences – and a more convenient model for service delivery.

Sam Neisterowich of Danvers, a participant in the Northeast Arc's Skills Training Exploration Program, is employed by Big Y supermarkets and the AMC movie theater at Liberty Tree Mall. "I'm excited for the Center for Linking Lives because it has a lot more space and it is close to my job at the movie theater," he says.

The Moline Family of North Reading has relied on the Northeast Arc's Autism Support Center (ASC) since their son Bob was diagnosed in 2005. "The Arc has helped educate us about autism, advocacy, the ins and outs of educational services, and transition to adult services," says Kathleen Moline, Bob's mother and cochair of the Autism Support Center's advisory board. "We are excited that ASC is moving to new space at the Liberty Tree Mall and will be located in the heart of the community and can't wait to see what new opportunities this space will create for all the families they serve."

In designing the space, the Northeast Arc prioritized an environmentally sustainable model that would reduce our organization's overall carbon footprint. Rather than purchasing or constructing a separate building, we opted to transform and reimagine an otherwise unused space. The Center for Linking Lives promotes community redevelopment and environmental sustainability, and we believe it will serve as a national model for other organizations seeking to enhance inclusion for people with disabilities in underutilized community settings.

WHAT'S IN STORE: Northeast Arc's Center for Linking Lives occupies 26,000 square feet of space at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, Massachusetts. Parcels is a boutique featuring products made by individuals with disabilities or by companies owned by individuals with disabilities.

There are malls like the Liberty Tree Mall all over the United States. Instead of seeing these malls fall into disrepair or transform into distribution centers, the Northeast Arc is offering a roadmap for how other retail centers can chart a new course as community spaces. What works in Danvers, Massachusetts can work anywhere in America. 

"Malls are important hubs for community gathering, and the Center for Linking Lives is an exciting opportunity to bring individuals with disabilities into these spaces," says Mike Connell, Liberty Tree Mall manager. "We're thrilled to partner with Northeast Arc to help promote an inclusive environment, and we're hopeful that the success of this project at the Liberty Tree Mall can be replicated at properties across the country."

Because the Center for Linking Lives is located within a mall, Northeast Arc naturally needed a retail storefront. The result is parcels, a unique 1,000 square-foot boutique offering products created by people with disabilities, or from businesses owned by individuals with disabilities. The products range from art and jewelry to artisan foods, and are made by entrepreneurs from around the world.

Not only will parcels provide a point-of-sale opportunity for these products, the store will serve as another training opportunity for people in the Northeast Arc's workforce development program. We know this model works, because it has already been implemented at other Northeast Arc social enterprises, such as Breaking Grounds, a coffee shop in Peabody, Massachusetts that provides individuals with hands-on training opportunities for food service careers.

The Center for Linking Lives is made possible by gifts through Northeast Arc's Campaign for Linking Lives, which has already raised more than $1.5 million toward its $3 million fundraising goal. The campaign is being co-chaired by Ralph James, a philanthropist and former Executive Director of External Relations at Harvard Business School, and Darcy Immerman, Chair of the Northeast Arc Board of Directors and Vice President at AECOM.

As the parent of an adult daughter with a disability, James knows the impact that a place like the Center for Linking Lives can have. "It's critical that young people get the education they deserve and, once formal education ends, they have a job that provides structure and positive feedback," James says. "The Center for Linking Lives addresses inclusion. It forms a community that will benefit the people it serves and everyone around them."

By introducing the general public to the array of services provided by the Northeast Arc, the Center for Linking Lives will demonstrate first-hand what people with disabilities can achieve if given the opportunity to succeed. I'm proud to be able to say that Northeast Arc is not just "of the community" but is now "in the community".•

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jo Ann Simons is President and CEO of Northeast Arc. She has more than 40 years of experience creating inclusive opportunities for people with disabilities. Jo Ann lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts and has two children. Emily is an attorney and Jonathan, a man with Down syndrome, lives and works independently. They are the inspiration for her life's work.

Northeast Arc was founded in 1954 by parents of children with developmental disabilities who wanted to raise their sons and daughters as full members of the community. By having the courage to challenge professionals who told them their children could not be educated and would not live to become adults, these parents created the systems that enabled them to attend public schools, develop friendships, reside in the neighborhoods of their choice and to earn a paycheck. Over the years, Northeast Arc's programs have expanded to support children and adults with a broader range of disabilities, including autism and physical disabilities. Today Northeast Arc serves approximately 15,000 people in nearly 200 cities and towns Learn more at ne-arc.org