Chimes

Chimes is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1947 that works with people who have intellectual and behavioral challenges. Its services span education, employment and vocational training, residential support, habilitative care and behavioral health treatment for mental health and substance use disorders. The organization employs more than 3,500 people across 29 or more employment sites and serves upwards of 20,000 children, adolescents and adults each year.

Employment services are a substantial part of its work: Chimes provides job opportunities and vocational training and is among the largest employers of people with disabilities in the United States. Its intellectual and developmental disabilities programmes run from toddler services through senior care, while educational, residential and habilitative services are delivered through national and international affiliates.

The organization began as a special education day school for five students in a Baltimore church basement. It now operates across six U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Israel. Staff describe a mission-driven culture centred on personalised care for individuals of differing abilities, inclusive communities and pathways to independence.