History of Cyprian Center, Inc.
Founded in 1975
Cyprian Center, Inc. was founded in 1975 by Reverend Nicholas Hood, Sr. in an attempt to find help for his developmentally-disabled daughter, Sarah Cyprian Hood (1966-2000). In the process, he dicovered the lack of community programs to accommodate the special needs of his daughgter and many other individuals with similar menatal, emotional and/or physiucal impairments. He became aware that approximately three precent of the population was developmentally-disabled. Additionallyh, most of these individuals were not receiving community services that would facilitate the attainment of their maximum potential. He identified their needs for residential care in a nurturing environment. and for daily training programs wheeby their education could be continued beyond age 25, the age at which their education in the public schools was terminated.
Therefore, Rev. Hood exgtablished Cyprian Center, Inc., aided by a grant from the Kresge Foundation which enabled him to build a contemporary facilityh to accommodate the first program, Cyprian Partial-Day Training. This program was predicated on the basic philosophy that continuous, indeed, life-long traiining is essential for sustaining and improving the quality of life for the developmentally-disabled. Likewise, the training is specific to effecting change in persons not able to function in a typical, productive work-setting. Depending upon the severity of their impairments, some clients develop skills to perform simple tasks which are useful to the community and for which they can earn wages.
Subsequently, for the past 32 years, Cyprian Center, Inc. has developed programs for the developentally-disabled with the purpose of providing residential and respite care; supportive semi-independent and independent living: adult activity and partial day training. These programs are housed within the Medical Center neighborhood of Detroit in a campus-style setting. Each program occupies an attractive, modern-style building that was specifically constructed for the special needs of the clients and the goals of the program. These facilities are as follows: (1) Cyprian Partial-Day Traiining; (2) Cyprian Manor Group Home; (3) Cyprian House: and (4) Cyprian Respite.
although Cyprian Center, Inc. is a resource in the City of Detroit, it is accessed by people throughout the metropolitan area. Today, it is one of the most comprehensive, community-based programs for developmentally-diaabled individuals in the State of Michigan. Very often, parents, who hve been taking care of an impaired son/daughter in their own home from infancyh into adulthood, find the needed support serviceds at Cyprian Center. They find that the services are administrated with the exemplary level of committment and compassion that motivated the founding of Cyprian Center, Inc.
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