History
Attleboro Enterprises traces its roots to a sheltered workshop program initiated by the Attleboro Area Association for Retarded Citizens in the latter half of the 1960’s. Known as “The Workshop”, the goal of this program was to provide work training and employment for adults with developmental disabilities. “The Workshop’s” trainees, paid on a piece rate basis for their labor, completed jobs subcontracted from local companies. In the early 1970’s, the State of Massachusetts by court order began purchasing residential and day program services for the disabled from community providers as opposed to relying on institutional settings. This shift in rehabilitation philosophy led to “The Workshop” engaging in contracts for employment related services with the State. “The Workshop” emerged as a professional vocational rehabilitation facility.
The challenges created by operating a growing business in the mid-1970’s at times conflicted with the advocacy role of the Association. In order to address both concerns, the Association divested itself of “The Workshop” in 1978, and several parents of developmentally disabled children along with a few local businessmen founded Attleboro Enterprises, Incorporated (AEI) in October of 1978. After an extensive fundraising campaign, AEI purchased property and built its current headquarters in North Attleboro, moving into the new premises in January of 1982.
Today AEI offers a full complement of day and family support services. Please use the links below to learn more about our specific services.
Day Habilitation
Residential Programs
Community Based Day Support
Property Development
Through the provision of high quality professional service and willingness to adapt to the needs of the disabled community, AEI has become an organization that provides programs serving over 200 individuals every day not only in the Greater Attleboro Area, but also throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Our original participants, young people thirty years ago, have stayed with AEI and continue to receive services from us where they feel at home and where staff feel like family. The spectrum of disabilities has grown exponentially, and students coming up through the school systems expect and deserve a broad and specialized complement of programs. AEI believes our programs and services should be fluid enough to fit the unique needs of each individual we serve. As the landscape of disabilities changes, we will continue to reinvent ourselves in order to provide the highest quality of programming for young and old with developmental disabilities in our communities.
