Phoenix (STN) – It began with a group of parents in the 1960s and 1970s who wanted something better for their children with disabilities. Today, The Centers for Habilitation (TCH) is one of Arizona’s largest social services nonprofits.
During the October episode of ‘It Happens at STN,’ viewers went inside TCH, a new STN partner, in a video featuring the people who know it best: staff, parents, and the people who lead it.
“TCH was formed by a group of parents who had children with disabilities, and this was back in the ’60s and ’70s when things were very different,” said Cindy Lee, chair of the TCH board. “Years later, as a parent myself, it strikes a chord that as a parent, you do worry about your children.”
For one mother, that worry gave way to hope when her daughter, who has cerebral palsy, finished high school. “Time came when she graduated from high school, and we were looking for a place where she could grow and have fun,” said Barbara Hardaway. “And a friend of ours mentioned TCH.”
Today, the mission remains what it has always been: serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. CEO Jeff Bernick said TCH runs a large day program on its main campus in Tempe and provides employment services, which help adults with disabilities find jobs.
The campus is also home to Arizona’s third-largest data destruction company. “We shred and destroy everything and any kind of media that comes our way,” Bernick said.
Local employers are part of the picture, too. “There are businesses here that employ some of our supported individuals,” Lee said.
Hardaway’s husband, David, offered a message to families weighing whether to trust TCH with a loved one. “When you have a child who’s disabled, you’re always somewhat in a defensive mode because you have to look out for them,” he said. “I would tell them that at TCH, it’s no problem.”
He added that TCH sees the people it serves differently. “For them, they’re not clients; they’re people. They’re human beings, and they really care for them.”
