Campus

Located in suburban Arlington, Massachusetts, Germaine Lawrence has a beautiful tree lined, 3 acre campus that integrates well with the character of the surrounding residential neighborhood. On our campus we have six treatment centers, our main administration and school building, and plenty of open space for recreational and outdoor activities. A group home is located nearby in the community.

Most of our treatment centers are self-contained units, with kitchen and dining facilities, lounges, classrooms, staff offices and indoor recreation space. Our main building contains classrooms, library, art room, gymnasium, exercise room and kitchen and dining facilities.

We are walking distance to the Arlington Heights business and shopping district and have easy access by public transportation to the many cultural and historic attractions in nearby Cambridge and Boston.

Campus Master Plan

In 2001, Germaine Lawrence adopted a Campus Master Plan to upgrade our space and create a state-of-the-art campus that can serve as a national model for other residential treatment centers. A multi-facility campus provides opportunities and resources to serve more difficult youth effectively and solve the problems treatment centers throughout the region currently are facing.

The campus plan will result in each facility having individualized clinical specialties. Specialization supports staff development of expertise and better meets the needs of the young people being served. The plan will create a continuum of care in which youth can transition from one facility to another as their needs change. For example, a girl could enter the continuum through our STARR Program, move to one of our long-term treatment programs, and when she has completed that clinical protocol, move to a group home until she is prepared to return to her family. By having this continuum on one campus, a girl can move from one facility to another without losing her entire treatment team. She can learn to trust new adults without needing to lose her existing supports.

Planning Process

The Board of Directors adopted the Campus Master Plan in October 2001. When completely implemented:
Our Campus will have six custom designed treatment centers that will have the capacity to serve 96 girls.

The campus will comply with Arlington’s zoning requirements, improve off-site parking, and provide a variety of outdoor recreation areas.

Most importantly, the girls we serve will have attractive, safe homes while they receive the help they need.

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Implementation of the Campus Master Plan

Phase One

Shortly after the adoption of the Campus Master Plan, Germaine Lawrence was able to purchase the convent at 14 Claremont Avenue. After significant renovations, in December 2002 the facility became home for the Germaine Lawrence program formerly located in Boston. This program has been named for Muriel Snowden, in keeping with our practice of naming buildings in memory of prominent female role models.

The next step in the implementation of the Campus Master Plan was the creation of a new home for the O’Keeffe program. We have cleared a site on campus and completed construction of the new 15-bed Cynthia Browning Treatment Center. In addition, we built new parking areas and re-landscape much of the campus.

Phase Three

The final step in the plan’s completion will be to build a new treatment center for our STARR Program. Construction will begin within the year.

Facility Design

In the past twelve years, Germaine Lawrence has constructed three, custom designed treatment centers. The Jane Addams Treatment Center, completed in 1994, won a national design award sponsored by the American Institute of Architecture. The Saul M. Hirshberg Treatment Center was completed in 2001, and girls moved into the new Cynthia Browning Treatment Center in 2005.

In all cases, staff and students love the new buildings. Students like the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, the general spaciousness, and color.
Staff appreciate the open sight lines, the larger classrooms, the offices that make communication easier, and most importantly, the reduction in dangerous incidents.
It is easier to keep the girls safe, and staff can put more energy into helping the girls develop relationships and learn to be more successful.

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