Our Story
For five decades we have been developing the means and opportunities for individuals, companies, and communities to discover how well we succeed when belonging and access are opened to us all.
Our Mission and Vision
Imagine the best relationships in your life. The relationships in which you feel seen, heard, and valued for who you are. Relationships where you contribute as much as you receive. Just being around these relationships makes you feel more confident, more connected, more yourself; More equipped to contribute your all.
In reality, this community of connection is not accessible to everyone. Some individuals are not yet valued for their strengths, and when this happens, everyone loses out. At Viability, together with our program participants and employer and education partners, we prove daily that embracing different abilities is a super-power where everyone wins.
OUR MISSION
Build a world in which individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages realize acceptance, inclusion, and access.
OUR VISION
Be a community of program participants and staff making inclusion and access of individuals with disabilities or disadvantages a way for people, businesses, and communities to succeed together.
Our network of services are designed to promote access, for all individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages. Our programs connect individuals’ choices, strengths, and goals with options for employment, job training, skill-building, and community living. The result is a community of connection that is richer for all.
How We Engage Together in Our Mission
Viability stands on the belief that upholding the dignity inherent to all human beings is essential to how we serve, collaborate as colleagues, and succeed in our mission. Acknowledging the visible and invisible qualities that make us both alike and unique is integral to our ability to meet each individual where they are and partner with them to develop effective ways forward. It is just as important for engaging a workforce where all who support our mission can bring their skills and talents to our work. Striving to create services and an environment that are accessible, responsive and provide meaningful opportunities to thrive for and with each unique individual we serve must be a daily practice. It is also an ongoing, imperfect quest. Viability recognizes that we have, and will always have, more work to do to continually further the skills, positive teamwork and collaboration necessary for mission delivery and workplace satisfaction. We are committed to continuous learning, engaging in open dialogue, adapting our policies and practices, and improving. Together with our Board of Directors, Viability’s Leadership Team has centered growth and success for our program participants and staff in the agency’s strategic priorities. We believe that encompassing different abilities, styles, perspectives, backgrounds and strengths in our services and workplace not only provides opportunities for all who share in our mission but also strengthens our organization and communities.
Trabajando Juntos para Lograr Nuestra Misión
Viability se basa en la creencia de que defender la dignidad inherente de todos los seres humanos es esencial, cómo proveemos nuestros servicios y colaboramos como colegas para hacer de nuestra misión un éxito. Reconocer las cualidades visibles e invisibles que nos hacen tanto similares como únicos, es fundamental para nuestra capacidad de interactuar con cada individuo donde éste se encuentre en la vida, asociarnos con ellos para así desarrollar y buscar formas efectivas para avanzar. Es igualmente importante poder involucrar a una fuerza laboral donde todos aquellos que apoyan nuestra misión aporten sus habilidades y talentos a nuestro trabajo. Debe ser una practica diaria el esforzarnos para crear servicios y un entorno que sean accesibles, receptivos y que proporcionen oportunidades significativas para prosperar para y con cada individuo al que servimos. Estamos conscientes de que lo anterior es una búsqueda continua e imperfecta. Viability reconoce que tenemos, y siempre tendremos, más trabajo por hacer para fomentar continuamente las habilidades, el trabajo en equipo positivo y la colaboración, todos necesarios para cumplir con la misión y la satisfacción en nuestros lugares de trabajo. Estamos comprometidos con el continuo aprendizaje, participando en un diálogo abierto, mejorando y adaptando nuestras políticas y prácticas. En colaboración con nuestra Junta Directiva, el Equipo de Liderazgo de Viability ha determinado que el crecimiento y el éxito de nuestros participantes de cada uno de nuestros programas y el de nuestro personal son prioridades estratégicas de la agencia. Creemos que abarcar diferentes habilidades, estilos, perspectivas, experiencias y fortalezas en nuestros servicios y nuestros lugares de trabajo, no solo brinda oportunidades para todos los que comparten nuestra misión, sino que también fortalecen a nuestras comunidades y a nuestra organización.
Featured Stories of Dignity
Here are some things about myself that you may not know!
My name is Joelle Smith but I like to be called Jojo…
Sum of Our Parts
Our agency’s strength lies in proven approaches for developing each individual’s capabilities while growing the capabilities of communities and employers to thrive through inclusion. Viability comprises 425+ caring, effective staff eager to welcome new program participants and members, alongside 4,000 current members who are served daily across 34 sites throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and New York. As an organization committed to high standards and best practices, we are GuideStar Gold, accredited by CARF and certified by Clubhouse International.
Our Board Of Directors
STEPHEN L. SOBEY
CHAIR
Attorney,
Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C.
Francis Fitzgerald
Vice Chair
Vice President, Property Management
Opal Real Estate Group
TIMOTHY J. MARINI
CHAIR EMERITUS
Hub International
CHARLENE SMOLKOWICZ
Treasurer
Commercial Credit Manager
Freedom Credit Union
COLLEEN HOLMES
Non-Voting Member
President and CEO
Viability Inc.
MELISSA ENGLISH
Senior Audit Manager
MP Group
Rhonda Jacobs
CLERK/SECRETARY
Principal of Alternative Schools
Springfield Public Schools
Pamela Molina Toledo
Executive Director of DOVE,
Deaf Overcoming Violence through Empowerment. International Strategist and Advocate for Disability Rights
Donna Carroll
Workforce Planning Partner,
Baystate Health
Rick Perryman
HUB International
Paul Murphy
Retired Attorney
Make a Positive Change
YOU can be a part of breaking down societal barriers and ensuring opportunities for our program members to live, learn, work, and thrive in their communities and the world by contributing your voice or making a donation.