Our
Mission
South Shore Support Services, Inc. is guided by the belief that the individuals we support are the directors of their plan for support services. To that end, the agency works to empower each person to make informed life choices. We support the individual’s pursuit of a quality of life, which is free from self-imposed and/or external barriers. The satisfaction of the people we serve is the primary measure of our success.
In 1995 two women, Mary Burt and Jeanne Hamilton, turned their passion into their purpose. Mary and Jeanne, having worked with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, saw a tremendous void in the community for services and programs for people with disabilities. Together they started South Shore Support Services that would grow from providing skills training to 15 individuals with 2 employees to an agency that currently serves over 900 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and we employ 300 people living on the South Shore.
The Birth of Individual Supports
After skills training the next leap was to residential services for a young woman graduating from Crotched Mountain School in New Hampshire. With the assistance of South Shore Support Services that young woman was able to transition to her own apartment with support workers and a roommate. Individual Supports evolved from skills training to a program which currently serves over 250 individuals living on their own with varying degrees of independence.
The Launch of Adult Family Care
In addition to the need for residential support the agency identified the need for family support. To meet those needs SSSS began an Adult Family Care program. Our AFC program provides support—in the form of compensation and training—that enables these caregivers to provide valuable support to loved ones in their home.
The Family Support Center & Library
The further needs of families were met when SSSS opened the Family Support Center and Library at our Libbey St location. The Family Support Center provides families with activities and assistance in a system which can be difficult to navigate.
The Start of Vocational Programming
Although SSSS has always provided small jobs around the agency for individuals, the formal start to our vocational program began in May of 2014 with the Launch program in Cohasset, MA. In 2018 we opened another site in downtown Hingham, MA. The program is designed to create individualized vocational options based on the participants’ strengths and preferences.
Today and Beyond
The mindset of South Shore Support Services is to be nimble, to be forward thinking, and to be innovative in meeting the needs of the individuals and the families we serve. Our agency looks at the challenges our community faces and works towards finding solutions. We seek to create a new landscape which will allow the individuals we serve to live a life filled with purpose, which is the purpose of life.
Awards
“South Shore Support Services (SSSS) provides excellent home and community services and Adult Family Care (AFC) programs to the persons served in their family homes that are unique and person centered.”
“Leadership is committed to providing quality services and support to staff members. Persons served, families, and other stakeholders all indicated a high degree of satisfaction with SSSS.”
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South Shore Support Services, Inc. is guided by the belief that the individuals we support are the directors of their plan for support services. To that end, the agency works to empower each person to make informed life choices.