Seventy years ago, a Manchester mother sat at her kitchen table envisioning a better future for people with disabilities in NH. Today, that same table sits proudly in the lobby of The Moore Center, a daily reminder that a few voices can transform lives.
“In the 1950s, there were not a lot of options for families who had a family member with a disability,” says Barbara Didona, director of training and communications.
That wasn’t good enough for Moore Center founder Beverly Arel, a mother of two children with disabilities. Arel gathered a group of families, pooled resources, and began raising money. With help from a benefactor named Moore, the grassroots effort evolved into what is today one of NH’s 10 Area Agencies for Intellectual Disabilities, serving the Greater Manchester region. Arel’s willingness to advocate for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities endures.
“We provide services from birth to age 3 through our early supports and services,” says Jen Meyer, vice president of adult services. “Once children turn three, the school kind of takes over, and then as they age out, our adult services pick up.” Those supports range from job placement and residential programs to a Kinship Program, which compensates family members caring for seniors at home.
The Moore Center also partners with organizations to bring visibility and opportunity to people with disabilities. For more than 30 years, the organization has collaborated with Saint Anselm College, and this year that relationship evolved into an official initiative called MooreTOGETHER. “The people we support are on campus engaging in educational and social activities alongside students,” Meyer says. “We bring just as much as we get from this partnership and to be able to amplify the voices of the people we support in that way is really special to us.”
The agency has also partnered with the SEE Science Center in Manchester, where its clients helped ensure the museum’s public spaces are designed to be inclusive.
Michael Ames, The Moore Center’s new president and CEO, says the organization strives to be the “go-to provider” for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and will continue to adapt to meet the needs of clients and their families. Future goals include fundraising for diverse programs and working to be an employer of choice, Ames says. “It’s going to be critical that we continue to identify gaps in service areas and enhance the quality of life for all of those that we work with,” he says.
