In 1936, a small group of 12 teenagers with disabilities came together in Indianapolis with a simple goal: to socialize and connect with one another.
They could not have known it at the time, but their small gathering would become the beginning of something much bigger.
Ninety years later, Easterseals Crossroads has grown into one of central Indiana’s leading resources for people with disabilities and their families. While our programs, locations, and even our name have changed throughout the decades, our commitment to creating opportunities for people with disabilities has remained at the heart of everything we do.
Where It All Began
The story of Easterseals Crossroads began when Mrs. Sarah S. Gavin became involved with a club of 12 teenagers with disabilities in 1936. Gavin contacted her friend, Mrs. P. R. Mallory, and together they helped expand the group’s activities to include handicrafts that members could create and sell.
By 1939, the group had formally organized under the leadership of the Indiana Society for Crippled Children. Soon after, a workshop was established to help prepare people with disabilities for employment in the community.
Those early efforts established a philosophy that continues to guide Easterseals Crossroads today: people with disabilities deserve opportunities to participate fully in their communities, pursue their goals and maximize their independence.
Growing Alongside Our Community
As Indianapolis grew, so did the organization.
In 1956, the organization moved into a newly constructed two-story facility at 3242 Sutherland Avenue. The additional space allowed services to expand significantly, including physical, occupational, speech and hearing therapy; preschool and developmental programs; psychological and social services; vocational evaluation; and employment training.
In 1958, the organization became an affiliate agency of United Way of Central Indiana, beginning another important chapter in its connection to the greater Indianapolis community.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, services continued to evolve. Additional space was added to accommodate growing educational, developmental, psychological, and social programs. In 1970, Crossroads developed a communications therapy program serving people who were deaf as well as children with disabilities — a first of its kind in Indiana.
By 1973, employment services had expanded to include programs focused on developing job-seeking skills.
Technology Creates New Possibilities
As technology began changing American workplaces in the 1980s, Crossroads recognized that those changes could create new opportunities for people with disabilities.
Career and skills training expanded to include programs such as Computer Programmer Training, supported by IBM, as well as a Disabled Driver Evaluation and Training program.
In 1986, Crossroads established a Sensory Aids Technology Center with funding from the Indiana Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation. The center helped people who were blind or visually impaired access computers using assistive technology.
That same year, Crossroads celebrated its 50th anniversary. By then, approximately 50,000 people had received services through the organization.
The growing focus on assistive technology would become an important part of Crossroads’ identity. In 1999, a $1 million grant helped fund the Ruth Lilly Assistive Technology Center, further expanding access to technology and resources designed to increase independence.
Finding a New Home
After operating from several locations throughout its history, the organization moved to 4740 Kingsway Drive in 1990.
The five-story building became the primary home of Crossroads and remains the main location of Easterseals Crossroads today.
By the mid-1990s, Crossroads had developed one of the nation’s most comprehensive rehabilitation programs. Its work included rehabilitation, employment programs, assistive technology and services that helped employers better understand accessibility and their responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The organization continued expanding at the turn of the century. In 2000, Crossroads assumed the Indianapolis Speech and Hearing Center, and Deaf Community Services became part of the organization.
New programs, locations and partnerships followed as Crossroads continued responding to changing needs throughout central Indiana.
Becoming Easterseals Crossroads
The organization’s connection with the national Easterseals network brought another evolution in its identity.
Although names, logos and branding have changed throughout our history, the purpose behind the organization has remained consistent: serving and advocating for people with disabilities and their families.
In 2016, as Easterseals Crossroads celebrated its 80th anniversary, the organization joined a nationwide Easterseals brand transformation designed to help change the way society defines and views disability.
Today, we are proud to be known as Easterseals Crossroads.
90 Years of Responding to Community Needs
The programs available today would have been difficult for those original 12 teenagers to imagine in 1936.
Easterseals Crossroads now provides services for people throughout their lives. Our work includes children’s therapy and early intervention, autism and behavior services, employment and transition services, adult day programs, assistive technology, Deaf and hard-of-hearing services, veteran services, home modification, and other programs designed to increase independence and quality of life.
The services have changed because the needs of our community have changed.
That ability to listen, adapt, and respond has been a defining part of our history.
When new technologies have created opportunities, we have worked to make those technologies accessible. When people with disabilities have faced barriers to employment, we have developed programs and partnerships designed to open doors. When families have needed support, we have worked to provide resources that meet them where they are.
And as society’s understanding of disability, accessibility, and inclusion has evolved, so have we.
Honoring Our Past by Building the Future
Celebrating 90 years is about much more than looking backward.
It is about recognizing the thousands of people who have shaped Easterseals Crossroads along the way — the people with disabilities and families who have trusted us, the employees who have dedicated their careers to our mission, and the volunteers, donors, community partners, and advocates who have helped make our work possible.
It is also about asking what comes next.
Our vision is a community with 100% equity, inclusion, and access for people with disabilities. Reaching that goal requires the same willingness to innovate and respond that has guided Easterseals Crossroads since 1936.
The world has changed tremendously over the past 90 years. Technology has changed. Communities have changed. Attitudes toward disability have changed. The services we provide have grown and evolved along with them.
But the idea at the center of our work remains remarkably similar to where our story started.
In 1936, 12 teenagers with disabilities came together looking for connection, opportunity, and community.
Ninety years later, Easterseals Crossroads continues working to create a Central Indiana where people with disabilities have opportunities to connect, participate, work, learn, play, and live with greater independence.
Ninety years of service. Ninety years of progress. And we are just getting started.
