HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION
CLIMB (Center for Living Independence for the Multi-handicapped Blind) was founded in 1977 to meet the needs of developmentally disabled blind adults who required residential housing and care in community settings. The acronym CLIMB was developed from the Webster Dictionary definition “to move up or ascend, especially by using the hands and feet.” There were four criteria for residential housing that needed to be met when the center opened: a supportive and friendly community, affordable housing, access to nearby public transportation, and opportunities for work and community integration for residents. The first facility in Sierra Madre was acquired and converted to a licensed adult residential facility with capacity for forty adults. Nineteen residents initially began to live at the facility on July 1, 1977.

CLIMB Work Activity Center (WAC) was established in 1977 as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation to provide individualized learning, vocational training, and work opportunities for visually impaired individuals with developmental disabilities. CLIMB Work Activity Center also provides opportunities for individuals to learn self-help and independent living skills, social and communication skills, and to receive public transportation training in an effort to enhance each individual’s quality of life. From this beginning, future programming needs were designed around the concept of a progressive curriculum offering the least restrictive environment and most opportunity for independent living. Over the following decades, CLIMB has expanded its continuum of care services to include a variety of residential programs and day programs throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

THE FOUNDER: WILLIAM D. YOUNG, JR.

With graduate degrees in behavioral psychology and initial work experience at agencies serving developmentally disabled in work activity and rehabilitation settings, William Young completed research at Pacific State Hospital, subsequently renamed Lanterman Developmental Center, to demonstrate the ability to viably serve severely disabled blind adults in community settings at significant financial savings to the state of California. At the time, developmentally disabled blind adults were not being adequately served in the state school districts or by agencies for the blind, most of which were designed for and limited to serving blind children.

In addition, many of the more seriously disabled blind individuals were institutionalized in state hospitals due to the lack of available community care options. Motivated by the lack of appropriate facilities for individuals with multiple challenges, after six years as Principal of Special Education at the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles, Young decided to create a community living program specifically designed for developmentally disabled and blind adults and founded CLIMB to fulfill this need.