The Carroll Center was organized in 1936 as the Catholic Guild for All the Blind. It was the central office for the parish guilds in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The first Community Mobility Program in the world was established at The Carroll Center in 1952 to teach safe travel skills to blind and visually impaired persons.
In 1954, St. Paul’s Rehabilitation Center was founded. It was the nation’s first comprehensive residential rehabilitation center for newly-blinded civilians, based on the successful Veteran’s Administration programs for post WW ll veterans and for which Fr. Carroll played a significant role in its development.
Fencing for the blind was one of many innovative ideas that Fr. Carroll incorporated into the rehabilitation program to help blinded persons develop balance, dexterity, and coordination necessary for cane travel.
The Carroll Center continued to develop programs for providing access to outdoor recreation activities and established low vision training and assessments; teaching the practical uses of remaining functional vision and the application of high magnification. Advances in optical technology and low-vision aids now enabled many visually-impaired persons to use remaining sight more effectively.
On April 24, 2002, the new state-of-the-art Technology Center opened, providing training for blind children and adults on the latest computer software and hardware for education, employment and personal use. These devices include talking computers, large-print displays, and Braille output that can be proofread by fingertip touch.
The computer revolution is providing tremendous career opportunities for blind or partially-sighted persons, and once again, the Carroll Center is on the leading edge. Blind persons are given intensive, hands-on instruction in using the latest adaptive technology.
