History

The formation of Community Partners, Inc. was the result of the 1996 merger of the Portland-based Resources for the Developmentally Disabled (RDD) and the Biddeford-based Community Support Services (CSSI). RDD was founded in 1967 through the efforts of Mary Lou Tyler, Frances Carr, Alison Skillings, and ten other women, half of whom were parents of people with developmental disabilities. The program expanded into Gray, Windham, Raymond, and later into Portland with a Senior Center for older adults with disabilities. Residential programs expanded to include three supported independent living homes.

CSSI began in 1977 as one six-person home in Biddeford, Maine. The impetus for the program came from Founder and Executive Director, Richard Tryon, along with the founding Board of Directors, who believed in meeting the needs of people with disabilities through community-based support services. At the time of merger, CSSI operated 30 different programs and supported more than 200 individuals from Lewiston to Kennebunk, and provided a full range of residential, independent living, day service, vocational, and crisis intervention supports in communities throughout Southern and Central Maine.

The two parent organizations were instrumental in creating the community service system for people with developmental disabilities in Maine and contributed to the end of the institutional era. The shared vision, mission, and values of these organizations created a pathway to merge and improve support services. In 2005, Community Partners, Inc. purchased the capital assets of Alternative Options and their four-bed Monmouth residence known as Oak Haven.