In 1958 Jeanne Warman gave birth to a set of twin boys and was devastated to discover that one was severely brain damaged. At the time, options for individuals with disabilities were limited to the institutions that would eventually be exposed for rampant neglect and worse. The enactment of the landmark Willowbrook Consent Decree in 1975 heralded a new era of deinstitutionalization and asserted the rights of those with mental disabilities to live in their own communities of origin, thus replacing “custodial care” with “normalization”.
Jeanne Warman spearheaded a grass-roots effort to develop facilities designed to address the needs of community families with members who were intellectually and developmentally challenged. Thanks to her perseverance, keen insight, and determined leadership, the pilot Women’s League Community Residence opened its doors to seven young men in 1978.
It is unlikely that even the most visionary of Women’s League’s original founders could have imagined how the fledgling entity would evolve. Today, Makor Care and Services Network has coalesced as an Award-winning wraparound organization that meets the multi-faceted needs of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities with services addressing all ages and stages.