Extraordinary Life: A Woman Of Action, And Generosity

Sign Up For Traffic Text Alerts She settled in Mansfield, and her first job in mental health was as a rehabilitation counselor at Mansfield Training School, which housed more than 1,000 people with severe intellectual disabilities. She didn't like the facility — she thought it was not client-friendly, and warehoused its clients rather than help them achieve their potential. It was later closed after a lawsuit challenged the care it gave patients.In 1969, she front lace wigs began working at HARC, then known as the Greater Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens, which took a different approach. It operated small residential facilities and a school, but was a leader in developing alternatives so its clients could live more actively in the community."She had a vision for what life might look like for helping people get more out of life with the abilities they have, and not placing any limitation on them," said Stephen Becker, president of HARC. "She helped welcome people into the community."That meant helping them learn to read at a functional level and do everyday math, to get along socially or in a workplace and live with as much independence as possible.To achieve these goals, Peters helped develop programs that worked with babies, supported families and taught them ways to advocate for their children, provided respite care for tired caretakers and offered its clients supported employment with job coaches.In the 1980s, when lawsuits forced Mansfield to close and new facilities were needed to care for the people who were discharged, Peters worked to develop programs for those with more challenging disabilities. That included adult activity lace wigs programs, which provided excursions as well as practical experiences like shopping and preparing simple recipes. It also included physical therapy, occupational therapy, massage, and efforts to develop a sense of autonomy.HARC developed programs for elderly participants and encourage self-advocacy — helping people with intellectual disabilities speak up about their own needs. She also handled lobbying at the General Assembly.Over the years, HARC grew from a small agency with 15 employees to one with a staff of more than 300. It now serves 1,000 people in the Hartford area, and tries to tailor programs to meet each person's needs.Peters was vice president for programs and services."She was part of that real journey from institutional to community living," said Becker.Peters was a born networker who kept in touch with everyone. She coordinated parents' groups, wrote letters, and kept pushing her agenda with feather hair extension legislators and working with others in the disabilities-rights movement."She didn't take no for an answer," Becker said. "She was very, very direct, but very, very thoughtful, and very, very good at rallying the forces to get things done."When it came to money-raising, Peters had the ideas and the follow through. "There was no opportunity to raise money she didn't embrace," Becker said.She was down to earth and practical — her Maine upbringing contributed to that, he said, and was never satisfied with a response that began with "No," or "It's impossible."If someone refused something she thought one of her clients needed, she embraced that challenge with vigor and imagination. When one particular child was in transition from school to employment, the school kept failing to provide an interpreter for meetings with the child's parents. The school was at fault — but Peters preferred to send in a bilingual HARC staff person rather than argue legalities in order to move the meetings alone."She was an action oriented person," said James D. McGaughey, executive director of the state Office of Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities. "She drilled down to the details, but she had the big picture in mind."