Serra Center founding clients at the campus property, circa 1975.
Serra Center History
In 1975, Serra Residential Center was founded as a service unit of the National Benevolent Association, the health and human services arm of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The agency, designed as a model peer living center aimed at integrating adults with developmental disabilities into the community, opened its doors on an exclusive 3-acre campus located in Mission San Jose in Fremont.
Initially, the services provided were Community Care Residential Facilities housing 12 individuals, along with an on-site Day Time Activity Center, which promoted educational and employment development.
Donald Gardening at his Serra Center ICF-DDH Home. Donald learned to “work the land” growing-up on his family’s 40 acre farm in Missouri.
In 1983 Serra Center became vendorized with the Regional Center of the East Bay to provide community based Independent Living Services. With the trend for services in California moving away from large facility based care towards small, individualized supported living arrangements, in 1992 Serra Center began providing Supported Living Services, as well as working toward the conversion of our large residential care facilities to smaller Intermediate Care Homes. Licensed by the California Department of Health Services, the conversion of these facilities offered an opportunity for individuals who require 24-hour, intensive care, to receive this care in a residential based, versus a facility based environment.
By 1996, Serra Center had fulfilled its destiny. With the sale of the exclusive property that once housed our residential care facilities, the agency became fully inclusive to the community by relocating our residential care facilities to residential homes throughout Fremont, focusing on providing services that integrated adults with developmental disabilities into the community.