Services provided by Vinfen’s Mental Retardation Division assist adults and children with mental retardation, autism, and secondary disorders such as behavioral challenges, blindness, deafness, and epilepsy. We provide both residential and day programs tailored to individual and family needs and circumstances.
Individual assessments and clinical-intervention strategies are developed by our staff of experienced master’s-level clinicians. These assessments and strategies build on an individual’s existing abilities, helping him or her move toward greater levels of independence.
- Residential Services: Facilities for adults are typically two- to four-person homes with 1:1 to 1:4 staff-to-resident ratios. We emphasize activities for everyday living, such as shopping, money management, personal health, recreation, and community involvement.
- Supportive Living: In these settings, our staff visits and works with people who are more independent and live in their own homes or apartments. These services encourage people to make their own decisions about staffing, roommates, and living environments.
- Day Habilitation Services focus on basic skills training, such as speech, occupational therapy, and medical issues.
- Vocational Services provide job-readiness skills and job-placement services.
- Alternative Day Programs, such as Gateway Arts and Community Support Services focus on different strategies and teaching methods to enhance skill development and personal confidence. These include arts-based rehabilitation, pre-vocational training, and supported employment. In supported employment situations, Vinfen staff members work with individuals on the job until they are comfortable in their new environment. Once settled into a new job, the individuals we serve become productive and highly valued members of the team.
- Family Support Services provide case management and financial assistance to help keep families intact.
Gateway Arts
Heaven/Hell
One Show - Two Locations
At the Gateway Gallery February 1 Though March 29th:
62 Harvard Street, Brookline
Artists' reception: Thursday, February 7, 6-8pm
Featured speaker at 7pm: Elaine Hill, Deputy Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Introduction and comments: Cliff Robinson, Metro Boston Area Director, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
617-734-1577 www.gatewayarts.org
At the Berenberg Gallery February 1 through March 1st:
4 Clarendon Street, Boston
Artists' reception: Wednesday, February 13, 6-8pm
With works by artists from Gateway Arts
617-536-0800
Vinfen’s Gateway Arts is an internationally recognized prevocational arts service for talented adults with disabilities. Founded in 1973, Gateway maintains high artistic expectations, and artisans are encouraged to create high-quality works and to earn income from their creations.
Gateway’s busy studio and store in Brookline, Mass., offer stunning fine art, ceramics, painted clothing, semi-precious jewels, woven goods, furniture, and folk art. Gateway also has a retail presence in New York and London and has become an international model for programs of its kind.
Gateway exemplifies Vinfen’s conviction that gifted adults with mental illness, mental retardation, and behavioral health disabilities can and do flourish in a supportive environment.
Internship Opportunities
Learn more about internship opportunities in the Mental Retardation Division.
