click here for a list of board members
Easter Seals West Alabama had its modest beginnings as the former Tuscaloosa Rehabilitation Facility, which opened in 1959 with only four staff members and ten consumers.
West Alabama Rehabilitation Center’s Board of Directors was organized in October 1967, and began planning for a new building and program of services to meet the needs of six counties in West Alabama. The facility at 1110 6th Avenue East contained 23,000 square feet of floor space, was opened in February 1970 with services provided to 44 individuals. As the consumer population grew, the primary service area also grew to eight counties.
In 1985, the facility became known as West Alabama Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center when Easter Seals Alabama restructured their bylaws requiring all facilities operating under their umbrella to include “Easter Seal” in their name. In 1999, the facility again changed its name to join a nationwide Easter Seals “brand” campaign to increase recognition about who Easter Seals is and what we do. We are now known as Easter Seals West Alabama.
In the 1990’s, Health Care Reform emerged and new trends in rehabilitation service delivery were pioneered. In 1993, we were the first Easter Seals facility in the state to make way for this new trend called Community-Based Rehabilitation.
More aggressive special event fundraising made it possible to purchase specialty equipment for state of the art rehabilitation therapies. In addition, a grant writer was hired to pursue grants on the state and federal levels that would enhance programs and services and to create additional sources of funding for consumer services. In 2002 a grant was received by the Federal Transit Authority, which allows us to provide transportation to and from work and job training for low-income individuals and people with disabilities.
Through all these changes, Easter Seals West Alabama has remained true to its mission of serving children and adults with disabilities while maintaining a reputation for quality, comprehensive services.
For staff information, click here
Did You Know?
For 25 consecutive years, the National Health Council has cited Easter Seals as the nationwide leader among its member voluntary non-profit health care organizations for the percentage of program dollars spent on direct client services.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. For the past 15 years, it has ensured a clear and comprehensive federal prohibition of discrimination against people with disabilities in private sector employment and continues to ensure equal access for people with disabilities to public accommodations, public services, transportation and telecommunications.
A federal law for 30 years, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees an appropriate public education and access to early intervention and preschool programs to children with disabilities.
Increase Your Understanding
Remember that people with disabilities lead lives just like people without disabilities…..they go to school, get married, work, have families, do laundry, grocery shop, laugh, cry, pay taxes, get angry, have prejudices, vote, plan and dream like everyone else. Stereotypes are hard to fight, especially for people with disabilities. Remember that misconceptions may stem from attitudes and environmental barriers, rather than from someone's disability. Encourage participation of people with disabilities in your community. When you visit restaurants or shopping malls, think about whether someone with a disability could be there with you. If not, discuss with the manager how a person with a disability could be a customer and the need for their business to be accessible to everyone.
