Category: Disability

The ACHIEVEMENT CENTERS FOR CHILDREN, a nonprofit agency founded nationally in Elyria in 1907 and locally on July 7, 1940 as the Society For Crippled Children, has provided outpatient rehabilitation for disabled individuals from birth through age twenty-one. The death of his only son and the injuries of others in a streetcar accident on Memorial Day 1907 led industrialist Edgar F.

The AIDS TASKFORCE OF GREATER CLEVELAND, a nonprofit established in 1983 as the Health Issues Taskforce of Cleveland (incorporated in February 1984), is the oldest organization in Ohio to serve people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Its mission is to provide compassionate and collaborative responses to the needs of people infected, affected, and at risk of HIV/AIDS.

ASSOCIATION FOR THE CRIPPLED & DISABLED. See ACHIEVEMENT CENTER FOR CHILDREN.

The BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE, organized in 1909, was the first foundation established in the U.S. to deal primarily with the needs of older Americans. Designed to assist "older persons in trouble and in need, in such a way as to help them maintain their self-respect and place in the community," the institute gained a national reputation for innovative services.

CLEVELAND HEARING AND SPEECH CENTER, affiliated with CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV (Case), was created in June 1945 from the merger of the Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing and the speech clinic at Western Reserve University.

The CLEVELAND SIGHT CENTER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND, formerly the Cleveland Society for the Blind, was founded in 1906 and has provided special services that enable people to cope with vision loss and/or total blindness. A pioneer in subcontracting with private industry and in community glaucoma programs, it has served as a model for agencies in other cities.

CLEVELAND SIGNSTAGE THEATRE (formerly Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf) was founded in 1975 by Brian Kilpatrick, a deaf actor, and Chas. St. Clair, whose intentions were to stage plays and make them available to the hearing-impaired by translating them into American Sign Language. Since that time the theatre has established and maintained a reputation for bringing to the stage a new expression in the area of theatre.

CLEVELAND SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND. See CLEVELAND SIGHT CENTER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND.

The CUYAHOGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, formed 1 Jan. 1948 as the Welfare Dept., assists and supervises the county's disabled and disadvantaged. The governmental division was preceded by several private and governmental efforts at providing WELFARE/RELIEF. The Welfare Dept.'s establishment by county commissioners John F. Curry, John J. Pekarek, and Joseph F.

The DIABETES PARTNERSHIP OF CLEVELAND , located at 3601 Green Rd. in BEACHWOOD, is a nonprofit UNITED WAY SERVICES agency that has provided services and support for individuals with diabetes and their spouses and family members, promoted diabetes research, and assisted professionals in diabetes treatment.

The DISPLACED HOMEMAKER PROGRAM, established in 1978 with a $200,000 grant from the State of Ohio, helps women aged 27 or older who have lost the financial support of their spouses through divorce, separation, disability, or death. It organized as part of the national Alliance of Displaced Homemakers (founded in 1975 in California), later the National Displaced Homemakers Network.

The DORCAS HOME, founded 20 Dec. 1884 (inc. 1885) as a refuge for sick and destitute women, served as a residence for elderly women from 1917 until 1967. It was operated by the Dorcas Society, a charitable organization formed in 1867 by 14 women, led by philanthropists Mrs. Josiah A. Harris and Mrs. Hiram H. Little. The purpose was to provide home-based nursing care for sick and poor women.

The GOLDEN AGE CENTERS OF GREATER CLEVELAND, INC. has supported and advocated for the elderly in Cleveland since its founding in 1954. It developed out of local GOLDEN AGE CLUBS. In 1995 Golden Age supported 16 local centers and had central offices at the Fairhill Institute for the Elderly.

GOLDEN AGE CLUBS, established in 1941 at the Goodrich House Social Settlement (see GOODRICH-GANNETT NEIGHBORHOOD CTR.), were originally sponsored by the BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE (BRI), the THOMAS H.

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES of Greater Cleveland, est. 1918 and inc. 1919, trains and employs disabled men and women, soliciting donations of clothes and household items to be repaired and resold. Cleveland Goodwill was one of 27 groups organized during Goodwill Industries' national expansion in 1918-19, funded by the Methodist Centenary Fund. The national group organized in Boston in 1902. Rev. Frank M.

GREVE, BELL (4 January 1894-9 January 1957), a pioneer in the development and provision of relief and rehabilitation services to the poor, sick, and disabled, gained international distinction for her work with local, state, and international social service agencies. A native Clevelander, Bell was the daughter of Louis and Margaret (Rummel) Greve.

The HCS FOUNDATION was established in 1959 in Cleveland by Harold C. Schott. The foundation limits its giving to Ohio and supports health organizations, cultural institutions, education, and services for the handicapped. In 1992 the foundation held assets of over $53.8 million and expended over $2.34 million for 17 grants, ranging between $1,000 and $500,000.

HIGH GEAR newspaper was published by GEAR (Gay Education and Awareness Resources) Foundation from 1974 to 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio.

HOLY CROSS HOUSE for Crippled Children was established in 1903 by the Episcopalian Guild of the Holy Cross for Invalids. Its mission was to provide shelter, as well as medical and surgical care, to crippled or invalid youngsters. Besides convalescent and rehabilitative services, the home also offered its children a basic academic education, as well as vocational training.

The HOLY FAMILY CANCER HOME, located at 6707 State Road in PARMA, was established in 1956 as a home for incurable cancer patients and is an early prototype of a hospice in the Cleveland area.

HOPE HOUSE, founded in 1972 and opened in Nov. 1973, was the first rehabilitation home in Cleveland for alcoholic WOMEN.

The HOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, one of the area's first such services, was founded in September 1978 in Lake County as Cancer Family Service, Inc., to offer home care and support for terminally ill patients and their families. Elizabeth Pitorak, through an American Cancer Society committee, created the agency with two part-time nurses, a social worker and volunteers.

The JEWISH CHRONIC RELIEF SOCIETY, established in 1914 by six women as the Cleveland Ladies Consumptive Aid Society, assisted indigent Jews suffering from tuberculosis and other illnesses for 75 years. In 1923 the organization incorporated as the Cleveland Denver Consumptive Society of the State of Ohio, reflecting aid provided to individuals entering the National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives in Denver.

The JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE (JVS) was initially established to help Jewish job-seekers of all ages join the workforce. It was created in 1939 when the Jewish Welfare Fed. combined the vocational services previously offered by a number of other Jewish organizations to centralize and cope more efficiently with unemployment and discrimination. From its office at 241 Euclid Ave., under the directorship of Abe L.