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The HOPE Center Vocational Programs provide supervision,employment, assessment,community activities, training and placement to adults from the age of 16 who have been diagnosed as developmentally disabled. Unlike some other programs, the Vocational Programs do not strive for the end goal of simply finding low-wage jobs or time filling activities for developmentally disabled adults. Rather, our professional and personal commitment is to the development of the whole individual for a greater and longer-term return.

It is for this reason that the vocational facility is located in the heart of a diverse and active community. Our belief is that too often, disabled adults are segregated, divided from mainstream society and isolated where they can supposedly be more easily managed. This can be perhaps the most injurious treatment of human beings.

In contrast, it is our conviction that those with developmental disabilities benefit society and themselves far more by being fully connected to the world at large. That is why you'll find our facility in the core of the community, near a major branch of the Denver library, a post office, a community center, a developing shopping center, and two bus routes.

As part of our community support, the staffs of nearby facilities collaborate with HOPE Center's adult clients on a routine basis. Our clients go to the Pauline Robinson Library every week to sort books, work often at the post office across the street on grounds maintenance, and volunteer for entertainment functions and lunch preparation and clean-up duties at the Stovall Care Center for senior citizens a few blocks away.

Our clients do all this and more as part of our dedication to the principle that every human being is capable of serving the community and, in return, developing as a fulfilled, caring and motivated individual.