The Center for Enriched Living is a non-residential, social enrichment and skill-development center dedicated to serving people with developmental disabilities or special needs, such as mental retardation. A private, not-for-profit organization, The Center is the Chicago area’s premier educational, recreational and social center.

Located in north suburban Riverwoods, The Center serves people with developmental disabilities or special needs from Chicago and 59 surrounding communities in Lake and Cook counties. As an organization, we have no geographic boundaries. We are open seven days a week, and offer more than 30 different programs for youth, adults and senior citizens. Most of our members have some degree of mental retardation, however, many program participants have secondary disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Prader-Willi, Downs Syndrome, visual and hearing impairments and/or emotional and behavioral disorders.

At The Center, we believe that people with developmental disabilities or special needs deserve more opportunities for education, skill building, friendships and fun. All our programs have a dual focus: they are designed so that participants can acquire new skills and so that they can have the chance to socialize with peers.

For individuals with mental retardation, other developmental disabilities, or special needs, The Center is a place where they can feel they truly belong, and where new opportunities, new challenges and new friendships await them.