The Vera Perlin Society is celebrating 70 years of helping others

The Vera Perlin Society reached an important milestone this month, celebrating the nonprofit organization’s work over the past seven decades on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities.

According to the association’s website, the Perlin Center based in St. John’s runs a daily tutoring program for clients and offers a “challenging, safe and enjoyable environment”.

The Vera Perlin Society also offers job placement services that connect employers with potential employees enrolled in the program, as well as education and career exploration.

There will also be lots of fun at the Vera Perlin Society. This was showcased this week with an anniversary celebration featuring crafts, games and, of course, music.

The Perlin Players band has been on the market since 1987. The group of performers – all of the association’s clients – are lip-syncing experts who know how to put on a good show. CBC saw Journey’s gripping rehearsal Don’t stop believing.

A woman in a purple shirt leans over a table with art supplies. Behind her stands a man in a yellow shirt and a medical mask. — The Vera Perlin Society offers employment and education services, but also organizes recreational activities such as arts and crafts. (Curtis Hicks/CBC)

All of these programs and the center exist because of Faith Perlin herself.

It all started when she worked in an orphanage, where she saw how children with intellectual disabilities were left behind.

“She went to a board meeting and said, ‘What’s going on with these kids?’ and the board members basically said that day, ‘well, they have intellectual difficulties, they can’t learn, so we don’t send them to school,'” explained Roger Downer, the association’s executive director.

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A non-profit organization based in St. John’s, founded by Vera Perlin in 1954, has been helping people with intellectual disabilities for decades by connecting potential employees with employers. But as CBC’s Heather Gillis reports, it’s not just that.

So in 1954, Perlin started her own class for children like the six she cared for at the orphanage.

She didn’t stop there.

“Mrs. Perlin said in 1957, ‘Well, I’ll buy a house. I’m going to open a school,’” Downer said. “She bought a house on Patrick Street.”

The house on Patrick Street served as a school for disabled children until another building was built in 1966. This was the Vera Perlin School, now known as the Perlin Centre, on Pennywell Road.

A man in a white collared shirt, gray hair and mustache looks to the side and talks to a reporter. — Randy Downer, executive director of the Vera Perlin Society, says even after 70 years, there is still work to be done. (Curtis Hicks/CBC)

Finally, in 1971, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador accepted responsibility for providing education to all children in the province, whether they had a disability or not. This decision was made possible thanks to Vera Perlin.

The Vera Perlin Society continues to provide lifelong programs and services today. The center is a thriving educational center and, according to those who use it, an essential community resource.

Customer Katie Brien met her best friend Stephen Brocklehurst there. Seeing him every day is her favorite part of being at the Vera Perlin Center.

“We laugh and joke all the time,” Brocklehurst said. “We laugh at each other every day.”

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