Pediatric occupational and speech therapy clinic, Project CHILLD, moved its operations from Beverly to Peabody this past month, opening a new facility for expanded programs and more staff.
Occupational therapist Kathy Carley opened the practice in 2001 to help children with intellectual, development, and neurological challenges. After working in Beverley for over 20 years, Project CHILLD moved to 5 Centennial Drive in Peabody three weeks ago.
“Part of the move was to expand our offerings,” CEO Dylan Langelier said. “We have always offered a number of holistic therapies along with speech and OT… when we moved to Peabody we customized our space. We wanted something that would be state of the art.”
Among the changes they’ve made is increasing square footage to over 13,000 square feet from 8,200 square feet and adding new programs.
“We hired a psychologist who does neuropsych. testing and evaluations, and then we hired a pediatric psychiatric nurse practitioner who does med. management and talk therapy,” Langelier said.
Along with the move, the organization has founded two non-profits, The Project CHILLD Foundation, Inc. and TASC, Inc.
According to Langelier, The Project CHILLD Foundation raises money to give out as grants to families who cannot afford services either at their clinic or others in the area. Another objective for the non-profit is to allow therapeutic professionals looking to get a speciality certification to apply for grants that subsidize any expenses needed for this.
TASC, which stands for Therapeutic, Adaptive, Social, and Community Engagement, is a new nonprofit that provides therapeutic services to adults with developmental disabilities.
“Project CHILLD has always been marketed as a pediatric clinic. That being said, we’ve seen our youngest client is three months old while our oldest client is in his late 40’s,” Langelier said.
With over 3,000 underserved disabled adults in Massachusetts, TASC will be able to provide for a demographic that is desperately in need.
To support this expansion, Project CHILLD realized that they needed to find a new home that would better serve their new ambitions. “When we found the opportunity in Peabody, we just jumped at it, and it has been amazing,” Langelier said.
An inaugural fundraising event open for the public will be held on December 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Olio Events to raise money for the two non-profits. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased on Eventbrite, giving the community a chance to support the essential services provided by The Project CHILLD Foundation and TASC.
