Janet Pomeroy discussing Theatre Unlimited with David Luvats in the early ‘80s.
Known back then as the Recreation Center for the Handicapped, Janet’s dream was to meet community needs for programs that serve children and adults with disabilities. As far as Janet knew, there were no other recreation centers for people with disabilities. Her work started with six teens and two volunteers in one room of the nearby Fleishacker Pool Building. In 1973, just four years before the passage of the historic Lanterman Act, which states people with developmental disabilities and their families have a right to get the services and supports they need to live like people without disabilities, the program moved to the other side of the San Francisco Zoo, and is still located at 207 Skyline Blvd.
Summer Camp, 1970s
Janet Pomeroy at benefit dinner receiving an award in the 1970s
Big smiles at the Pomeroy Center in the 1980s
1960s
California Dreaming
Children on Big Wheels in the patio, early 1980s
Pomeroy Staff hugging child participant in the 1960s
Basketball in the 1980s
School bus drop off of little boy at the Pomeroy Center; taken in the late 1970s.
Therapeutic Swim, 1980s
Little girl participant playing soccer at the Pomeroy Center in the 1980s
Janet's dream has become a reality. Today, through its programs and services, PRRC serves nearly 2,000 people every week. Our center has been acknowledged nationally and internationally for pioneering recreation programs for people with developmental disabilities and for leadership in vocational rehabilitation, education, respite care and community-based programs. Our range of services has expanded from San Francisco to San Mateo counties.