Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: Albertina Kerr

Patch talks to Albertina Kerr about its work with the Oregon Community of the developmentally disabled.

Get Your Portland News From Patch.

Patch: Tell Patch a little about your organization!

Albertina Kerr: Albertina Kerr strengthens Oregon families and communities by helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, empowering them to live richer lives. Established in Portland in 1907, Albertina Kerr has long supported children and families from a nursery and adoption center to supported living, employment, and life skills training for people with developmental disabilities. Over the decades, our services have evolved to meet community needs. Today, we serve children and adults with mental health challenges and developmental disabilities.

Get Your Portland News From Patch.

Patch: How does your organization help to strengthen the local community?

Albertina Kerr: Albertina Kerr provides a wide range of services for children with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges as well as support for their families. Our children’s mental health programs are unique in Oregon, providing intensive intervention and psychiatric assessment from early childhood to 18. Children enter Albertina Kerr’s care because they are struggling to function at home, at school, or in the community.

We provide expert evidence-based treatment and skills training geared toward creating new potential for a healthy, productive life for each child. Albertina Kerr also provides services designed to support children and adults with developmental disabilities and delays.

Mental and physical disabilities result in impairments to daily functioning and include diagnoses such as Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. We provide care, skills training and support in the community, in group homes, and in a clinic setting. All Albertina Kerr services work to remove barriers to community inclusion and challenge the perception of what is possible for an individual with a disability.

Albertina Kerr's developmental health clinic provides specialized, comprehensive team-based developmental-behavioral pediatrics, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, and social work care. Albertina Kerr meets the needs of Oregon’s most vulnerable children and families with the help of a supportive community of 969 volunteers and 6,292 generous donors and community supporters. The character of Albertina Kerr’s community has earned us a reputation for service excellence, cost-effectiveness, sound management and volunteer spirit.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of your nonprofit?

Albertina Kerr: Continue expanding our services to increase the number of vulnerable Oregonians we serve.

Subscribe to the Portland Patch.