Serving children and adults with disabilities in the Greater New Bedford community.
12/14/2025
Stop by our Family Support Center tomorrow at 211 Alden Rd in Fairhaven! Hot cocoa and popcorn for everyone 🎁
📢 Fill the Truck Toy Drive – December 15!
On December 15th, Fairhaven Firefighters Local 1555 will be at Better Community Living (211 Alden Rd) from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM for a special Fill the Truck Toy Drive!
We’re teaming up with the BCL Family Support Center to collect toys for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism. Your donation will help bring joy to local children of all ages this holiday season.
🎁 Requested items include:
✔️ Trucks, planes, cars
✔️ Toys that light up or play music
✔️ Barbies, dolls, accessories
✔️ Sports balls (basketball, football, Nerf)
✔️ Squishmallows, stuffed animals
✔️ Craft sets, bath toys, winter gear
✔️ Disney/Marvel items, Bluey, Paw Patrol, Cocomelon
✔️ Gift cards for teens
✔️ Building sets, Play-Doh, Legos, Kinetic Sand
🎄 Please bring NEW, UNWRAPPED toys!
Thank you for helping us support local families this holiday season.
Next dance is December 5th!!
Dress to impress - wear your best Christmas colored clothes!
See everyone there!! 🤗
11/25/2025
11/10/2025
Donation boxes are located at both 211 Alden Rd in Fairhaven and 128 Union St STE 205 in New Bedford, as well as Dorothy Cox Chocolates and PS I Love You Salon. We thank you for your generosity and support ❤️
09/23/2025
The BCL Dance is back on for the first Friday of each month starting October 3rd!! Hope to see everyone there!!
09/11/2025
Happy Direct Support Professional (DSP) Week! 🧡 Thank you to all of our staff for providing exceptional care every day to the individuals we support.
We are grateful to all Direct Support Professionals across the Commonwealth for the extraordinarily selfless, crucial and excellent work you do on behalf of all of us every single day. We know you, we appreciate you and we thank you.
06/24/2025
Thanks to our generous donors and community, Carroll is officially going to the happiest place on Earth! We would like to thank you all for helping make Carroll's dream come true 💙
06/10/2025
On behalf of our administrative team and Board of Directors, thank you to everyone who made our 25th Annual Golf Tournament a success!
Thank you to Toyota of Dartmouth as our Tournament Sponsor, Rockland Trust as our Dinner Sponsor, and On The Go as our Lunch Sponsor. We couldn't do the amazing work we do without you!
We are also incredibly grateful for the support of our Gold Sponsors (Justice Resource Institute, Saunders Dwyer Funeral Homes, St Michaels Credit Union, Giardini Consulting Group, Drift Day Spa, and M.O.L.I.F.E) as well as our Silver Sponsors (Healthcare Pharmacy, Northern Wind, LLC) and Hole Sponsors (Cornerstone Design/Build Services, Inc, Servpro of Dartmouth / New Bedford, Sullivan's Painting Service, Oliver Enterprises, Incorporated, Century House Inc., and Sylvia Group).
Lastly, we'd like to give a special shout out to the incredible volunteers, BCL employees, and staff at Swansea Country Club who helped put together such a wonderful event.
See you next year!
05/30/2025
Tommy the Turtle is ready for someone to get this hole in one and win a brand new truck! Thank you to Toyota of Dartmouth ⛳️
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In 1988, founder Thomas C. Riley, had a clear vision of Better Community Living and began putting his ideas into action. After working for the largest provider of human services in Massachusetts, he knew that his biggest goal for this new entity was to provide a larger voice for individuals and their families while staying dedicated to the Greater New Bedford Area. “I wanted to keep it geographically compact so that we could provide high-quality supports. I also thought that by identifying with one area it would help us to get people more involved in the community,” Mr. Riley states.
He decided to designate the new agency as a nonprofit, defining goals that were based on service needs rather than revenue projections. He was driven to provide individuals with choices based on their individual needs and wants, to promote an environment that respects cultural diversity, to deal with behavioral issues with positive social responses (versus traditional institutional approaches), and to offer supports that treat people with respect and dignity. He wanted to provide “homes” for individuals, not just places to live.
In 1988, BCL was granted its first contract with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (“DDS”) to operate a home for four persons. The agency had eight employees that first year.
Thirty years later, in 2019, Tom retired and Tracey Cordeiro took over as CEO of Better Community Living. Tracey is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of educational and human services settings. Tracey has developed an amazing team of professionals who work collaboratively to ensure all individuals served have a fulfilling, meaningful life.
BCL now has 17 homes in the Greater New Bedford area. Services have expanded to include Day Habilitation, Community Based Day Services, Supported Employment, Shared Living, Agency with Choice, Faith Based services and a variety of in-home services for children with autism. The agency now supports more than 150 adults, children and families and employs more than 260 hardworking, dedicated staff.
