Museum of disABILITY History
Approved by
Amherst Town Board
BUFFALO , N.Y. , September 21, 2006: People Inc.’s Museum of disABILITY will soon have a new home. The Amherst Town Board voted on Monday to approve a lease agreement to have People Inc. move its Museum of disABILITY History from a temporary site to the Mennonite Meeting House on the corner of North Forest Road and Main Street in Amherst. The Museum of disABILITY History is the first of its kind in the world.
People Inc.’s Museum of disABILITY History tells the story of the lives, triumphs, and struggles of people with disabilities. The project has already received the support of Assemblymember James Hayes, Senator Mary Lou Rath, and recently the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation funded the Museum’s online virtual museum website.People Inc. was the first agency in the Buffalo Niagara region to receive funds from the Golisano Foundation.
“We are excited for the opportunity to add something new and truly unique to the Town of Amherst,” said People Inc. President and CEO James M. Boles, Ed.D. “We started collecting artifacts and small exhibits in the mid 1990’s and 10 years later we have so much more to display. The space that the Mennonite Meeting House has enables us to showcase the research and exhibits we have developed over the past decade,” added Boles.
“By having our Museum in a more visible setting, it will allow our organization to educate people of all ages on the importance of disability history and begin to see people with disabilities as productive members of the community,” Boles further added.
With the assistance of Congressman Reynolds, Boles was recently appointed by President Bush to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID). The 12 member committee was formed in the early 1960’s by President Kennedy as a vehicle to advise the President on developmental disability issues. “I plan to focus on disability history and its importance. The PCPID Committee gives us the opportunity to put the Museum of disABILITY History out there nationally,” concluded Boles.
The next steps are for the Town of Amherst records to be moved from the Mennonite Meeting House to the St. Mary’s garage site in Amherst State Park on Mill Street, with People Inc. being responsible for the repairs of the location. After that initial step, People Inc. will begin to develop the internal and external repairs to the Mennonite Meeting House. As People Inc. Chief Operating Officer Rhonda Frederick commented during the meeting, the Mennonite Meeting House is in need of repair. “Anyone can see this building is need of restoration and some TLC,” Frederick remarked.
The goal is to open the Museum of disABILITY History at its new location in the spring of 2007. It is currently located at 1291 North Forest Road in Williamsville, next to People Inc.’s administrative offices.
The Museum of disABILITY History is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and display of artifacts relating to the history of people with disabilities. It is the only bricks and mortar museum in the United States. Some of the Museum of disABILITY History’s community awareness projects is a partnership with the Boy Scouts of America for scouts to earn their Disabilities Awareness Merit Badge and also hosting the 2 nd Annual disABILITIES Film Festival and Speaker Series in October.
People Inc. is a not-for-profit health and human services agency providing programs and services to more than 10,000 people with special needs, their families, and seniors throughout Western New York. Since 1971, People Inc. has assisted individuals to achieve greater degrees of independence and productivity.
