Hattie Larlham is a nonprofit organization providing care to over 1,500 people with developmental disabilities. The group offers services to benefit the disabled, their families and communities.
Today, the organization provides residential care to 130 children and young adults at the Hattie Larlham Center for Children with Disabilities in Mantua, Ohio, and to adults at community-based homes located throughout Ohio.
In December of 2011, as a result of collaboration with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilites, Hattie Larlham opened a Constant Companions program in Middleburg Heights. The facility is the third in Ohio and the largest.
The program pairs up people with developmental disabilities and pets such as cats, gerbils, birds, fish and rabbits. This unique day program is an alternative to more traditional DD work programs. The goal is for participants to learn practical skills for caring for animals. Participants feed and clean up after the animals, and interact with them and each other in a home-like atmosphere.
The animals will live at the Constant Companions facility at 6909 Engle Rd. in Cleveland, but the participants won’t. All of the animals are adopted from shelters. There are no dogs included in the program because they need a higher level of care and companionship.
In addition to their program with the animals, Constant Companions offers arts and crafts, music, holiday events, day trips and other programs.
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