Tools

Intentional Care is set of standards and tools that can be used by staff and supervisors to support clients’ recovery. Intentional Care includes training, decision-making and evaluation tools that teach staff how to intentionally and purposefully use their relationships with clients to support recovery and empowerment. To learn more, visit www.intentionalcare.org
 
The Autism Alliance School Nurses' Packet - The Autism Alliance of MetroWest developed this special toolkit for use by school nurses to help them better communicate with students who have severe autism about their medical and health needs. The kit has been piloted in several Massachusetts schools with great success and is now available on the Alliance's website.  Read about the nurses' kit in the MetroWest Daily News.

 

Videos

The Advocates Way - Developed by a task force of individuals receiving Advocates services, direct care staff and administrators, The Advocates Way is a working statement of Advocates' philosophy. The philosophy exists both as a print document and as an inspiring documentary video produced by a member of the task force who is herself a woman in recovery.  The video is used to train new staff, to empower individuals receiving supports and to educate the public about Advocates' mission and values.
 

Going to the Doctor - Produced by Advocates, this 23-minute video presentation illustrates ways doctors, care recipients and direct care staff can work together to maximize the effectiveness and the quality of  an individual's visit to the doctor. In 2002, the Surgeon General issued a wake-up call on the health disparities facing people with developmental disabilities. Going to the Doctor is one way in which Advocates is answering this call as we work to improve the quality of life for the people we serve. For more information, download the brochure pdf.

 

Publications

Studies and Reports - Working with communitites

Framingham Board of Selectmen Meeting Presentation, by William J. Taylor, August 16, 2005

Opening Doors to Group Homes in Worcester, Northeastern University School of Law

A Legal Guide to the Siting of Community-Based Social Service Programs and Special Needs Schools, prepared by Benjamin Fierro III, Lynch & Fiero LLP, Counselors At Law

A Review of Existing Research on the Effect of Federally Assisted Housing Programs on Neighboring Residential Property Values

Good Neighbors, New York Times Editorial, November 7, 2008

The Impact of Supportive Housing on Surrounding Neighborhoods; Evidence from New York City, The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, New York University

Legal Rights of Individuals with Disabilities, Stanley J. Eichner; Christine M. Griffin et. al., MCLE, Vol.

Why Affordable Housing Does Not Lower Property Values, prepared by Habitat for Humanity

The Impact of Group Homes on Residential Property Values, a study by Greater Baltimore Community Housing Resource Board, Inc. 

Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing Act, A Joint Statement of the Department of Housing & Urban Development and the Department of Justice

Fair Housing Law and Group Homes, reprinted from the Journal of the Section on Local Government Law of the Virginia State Bar, Vol. III, No. 1, Sept. 1997

 Staff publications

 
Human Service Workers and Salary Equity
Advocates has long rallied to increase wages for the state's human service workers and was pleased to see Massachusetts enact Senate Bill 2764 in August 2008. The landmark bill implemented periodic adjustments reflecting real costs to state contracts to provide services for people with disabilities.

Time is Now for Legislation: In this July 30, 2008 opinion piece, Advocates' President and CEO William J. Taylor calls on Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to pass legislation that would raise salaries for the state's human service workers for the first time in 20 years.

Statehouse Testimony: Salary Equity Bill To the Joint Committee on Children and Families, given by William J. Taylor, November 1, 2005

The State Needs to Re-evaluate the Role of Human Services, by William J. Taylor, The Provider, July 2005

 
Diversity
Consideration of Cultural Diversity in Service Provision, by Jeffrey Keilson, MA and Thomas Wagner, LICSW, The NADD Bulletin, July/August 2005
 
Housing
Cutting Section 8 Vouchers Hurts People with Disabilities, by Helen Rivard and Lisa Chabot, January 2005
 
General Interest
Scared of Heights, Writing for Psychiatric Times, Dr. Christopher Gordon reflects on the unexpected reminder he received during a vacation adventure of shame patients often feel during the recovery process. February 1, 2009 

 
Advocates is a 501(c)(3)organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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 Supporting you, your loved ones, your friends, Your neighbors...

 
Advocates provides support services for people with:
  • Mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse
  • Intellectual or developmental disabilities or co-occurring mental illness and developmental disability
  • Prader-Willi Syndrome
  • Autism and pervasive developmental disabilities
  • Acquired or traumatic brain injury
 
We also provide support services for:
  • Deaf adults with mental illness or a developmental disability
  • Families who are supporting a family member with a disability
  • Elders living in the community who may have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder
  • Adults with a mental health diagnosis in jail or re-entering the community
  • Youth in transition from foster care
  • Individuals and families who are homeless or at risk for homelessness
How to access services