About

Our Vision

We are under no illusions: the road ahead is steep. The systemic barriers are real and the needs are urgent. But we believe in naming the ideal—even if it feels like a pipe dream—because vision is the first act of transformation.

Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance exists to imagine boldly and advocate fiercely for a future where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families are empowered. Where intergenerational care is not a slogan, but a lived reality. Where healing is possible, and dignity is non-negotiable.

Here is our vision:

🌱 Expanding Admissions: A Choice for All

We proudly support opening admissions to individuals and families who actively choose the ICF/IID facility-based model over traditional community-based care. Everyone deserves the right to select the support environment that best suits their needs—whether it’s the embrace of a holistic, campus-based community or the services found in broader community-based services. By welcoming those who find empowerment, healing, and belonging in the Wrentham and Hogan model, we honor personal autonomy and uphold the fundamental principle of choice in care.

🏢 Day Habilitation Facility for the Unserved

Thousands of individuals with complex disabilities remain unserved across Massachusetts.[i] We believe it is both urgent and feasible to expand services on the Wrentham Developmental Center and Hogan Regional Center campuses.

We propose the creation of a Day Habilitation Facility on the Wrentham and Hogan Regional Center campuses, specifically designed to serve individuals currently without access to appropriate programming. This facility would:

• Leverage existing infrastructure at Wrentham and Hogan, including clinical, therapeutic, and administrative resources.

• Provide medically necessary habilitative services under MassHealth guidelines, while fostering community engagement and skill-building.

• Offer a safe, inclusive environment for individuals who are often rejected by private providers due to the complexity of their needs.

• Support families and guardians through transparent care planning and consistent communication.

This initiative aligns with our broader mission to ensure that no individual is left behind due to systemic gaps in service delivery. By utilizing the Wrentham and Hogan campuses, we can respond to a documented crisis with compassion, efficiency, and accountability.

🏡 Intergenerational Housing on the Wrentham and Hogan Campuses

We envision a vibrant community where elderly housing is integrated into these campuses, offering both affordable and market-rate units. This ensures that elderly parents have the opportunity to spend their final days living close to their adult children with IDD, fostering comfort, continuity, and deep familial bonds. Residents would have access to continuing care solutions and shared resources, promoting mutual support across generations. A robust volunteer program would connect campus residents with the broader community, creating meaningful relationships and reducing isolation.

🤝 A Robust Volunteer Operation: Bridging Generations and Community

We imagine a thriving volunteer operation where seniors living on campus and volunteers from the surrounding community join together in service and fellowship. Seniors would have the opportunity to mentor, share wisdom, and engage in activities alongside individuals with IDD, nurturing intergenerational bonds and combatting loneliness. At the same time, volunteers from the general community—including students, professionals, and families—would bring fresh energy, diverse talents, and new perspectives to campus life. This shared commitment to service would not only enrich the lives of all participants, but also deepen the connections that make Wrentham a true community. Through gardening, teaching, art, music, and simple companionship, the volunteer operation would ensure that every resident feels seen, valued, and supported.

🛑 A Humane Emergency Stabilization Unit at Wrentham

We believe that stabilization should take as long as it takes. The current short-term stay model at Wrentham is not just inefficient—it’s inhumane. Gatekeeping access to emergency care for individuals in crisis is unacceptable. We advocate for an expanded unit where individuals can receive the time, support, and continuity they need to truly stabilize.

🧠 A Center for Trauma-Informed Research and Care

Too many individuals have suffered abuse and neglect within the DDS system. We propose a dedicated Center at Wrentham to study the impact of this trauma, develop and implement best practices for care and prevention, and offer housing and treatment to survivors. This would be a sanctuary for healing, learning, and systemic accountability.

🏥 Teaching Hospital for IDD, Mental Health, Chronic Illness, and Sensory Care

Wrentham could become the nation’s first teaching ICF/IID facility, specializing in individuals with IDD who also experience mental illness, chronic serious health conditions, and sensory impairments like blindness or deafness. The medical team would train students and residents to diagnose and treat comorbidities including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer—particularly when communication and cooperation is difficult. The hospital would deliver expert care for these combined needs, positioning Wrentham as a leader in holistic, person-centered healthcare.

🌾 Reopening the Farm

Farm work at Wrentham has deep roots, serving as both therapy and vocational training for able-bodied people with developmental disabilities. Early on, residents learned manual labor skills while contributing to a self-sufficient community. The campus expanded throughout the 1920s, with agricultural buildings woven alongside patient wards and staff housing. In those decades, Wrentham was considered a model institution—praised by visitors for its humane environment and the dignity afforded to residents through meaningful work such as farming.

Though the farm was once integral to campus life, its presence faded as conditions deteriorated, and by the 1970s, overcrowding, underfunding, and abuse scandals led to deinstitutionalization and the closure of many original programs. Now, we dream of bringing the farm back—not merely as a nostalgic gesture, but as a therapeutic, practical, and economic asset. Reviving the agricultural tradition would offer residents new opportunities for purpose and connection, help offset operational costs, and renew Wrentham’s legacy of holistic care.

🏘️ Integrated Typical Housing and Retail Establishments

We see a future where the campus includes integrated, typical housing options for non-disabled individuals and families. Alongside these residences, thoughtfully designed retail spaces—such as restaurants, cafes, and shops—would welcome both campus residents and the broader public. This integration would foster natural community interactions, reduce isolation, and create an environment where people of all abilities live, work, and socialize together. By combining inclusive housing with vibrant commercial activity, Wrentham and Hogan would serve as models for a truly integrated and thriving community.

---

[i] Laughlin, Jason, Thousands with complicated disabilities languish as Massachusetts struggles with staff shortages at care, Boston Globe, August 8, 2023