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Advocates’ origin story is as unique as the individuals we serve: we started as a coffee shop.
Advocates was founded in 1975 by friends and families of individuals living at Westborough State Hospital. Our founders created a coffee shop on the hospital grounds, where people who were hospitalized could interact in a more inclusive, less institutional environment. This spirit of holistic engagement – viewing individuals as whole people not defined by a disability – has continued throughout our history.
Shortly after the founding of Advocates, the Massachusetts legislature recognized the need for people with disabilities to have access to integrated, family-scale housing. In 1978, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health selected Advocates to operate a residential program in Framingham for eight people with mental illness. We quickly expanded, serving one hundred individuals in residential programs by 1983 and more than two hundred by 1990.
Over the past five decades, Advocates has grown and evolved. Our work in community-based day services, co-response jail diversion, family engagement, loneliness prevention, peer support, and mental health urgent care are just a few of the ways that we have distinguished ourselves as a leader in the field of human services.
In 2024, Advocates merged with two human service providers with deep community ties, growing our reach and impact. Our merger with HMEA, an organization founded in 1961, brought expanded services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Our merger with Family Continuity, an organization founded in 1985, resulted in increased behavioral health and community justice services.
As a comprehensive community-based provider, Advocates now serves more than 45,000 adults, children, and families across Massachusetts and Rhode Island each year. Our full continuum of services is flexible and culturally responsive in order to best meet the needs of individuals with autism, brain injuries, developmental disabilities, and behavioral health challenges.
Now, as ever, our work is guided by the belief that all people deserve a full life, meaningful relationships, and opportunities to thrive.
