A nonprofit company dedicated to helping citizens with mental disabilities reach their potential in Massachusetts and New Hampshire since 1980, Toward Independent Living and Learning (TILL) Incorporated, has moved to a new location in town, hoping to reach more people.
TILL has had a presence in Chelsea since 1983, but the organization’s latest endeavor looks to help the city of Chelsea reach its maximum potential as well, as the opening of the new TILL Building, at the corner of Congress Street and Broadway proves.
“This was a project with several different components,” said Steve Lepler, director of special projects for TILL. ‘The upstairs part of the building offers 23 affordable housing units to those who qualify, and the street level areas of the building offer us a chance to grow and expand our programs in Chelsea and really help even more people.”
However, even that explanation doesn’t describe the vision that TILL has for the new Chelsea facility.
“The point is to have people from the community interact with the people in our programs, because that is really the best way to help them reach their potential and it is also a way to help the public understand that these are people who can work and contribute and live a meaningful life,” said Lepler.
The many components of the TILL Building include space for TILL programs, such as the Day Habilitation Program, which strives to help clients reach their maximum potential; space for the Essence of Thyme catering and coffee shop business endeavors; and space for a new, public exercise facility that hopes to draw even more local residents into the TILL building, while they bring the TILL clients out into the community.
TILL Central is a program that operates both in the building and out in the community and it is geared to people with minor to moderate special needs. There is also its Day Habilitation program, which will eventually help up to 50 individuals by offering training and educational opportunities, as well as the Essence of Thyme, which will help to train about 10 to 15 people at time for real world jobs in the restaurant and food service industries.
“The Essence of Thyme Catering component is an entrepreneurial program that we’ve run successfully for many years out of our Hyde Park location. We prepare literally thousands of meals per year out of that location,” said Lepler. “In the new facility, we hope to do more of the same as far as the catering aspect goes, preparing meals for schools and senior centers and other group settings and with the café and gift shop, we’re trying to bring a new component to what we can teach, while at the same time offer a service and a relaxing café for local residents to enjoy.”
Lepler added TILL has always prided itself on doing innovative projects that strive to improve the lives both of the people they serve, as well as the lives of those who come into contact with those people. The Essence of Thyme Café is just another step in the evolution of the types of programs that TILL has been successfully operating since its inception.
“We’re very excited for the opening of the new center,” said Lepler. “There is a new state-of-the-art exercise facility inside the building that we hope after a short time will be open to the public to join and use, but we also want to be a centerpiece for the revitalization of the downtown area. There’s a lot to be excited about in Chelsea, and we’re very happy to be here in this new facility.”
The apartment units on the upper floors of the TILL Building are managed by Cornu Property Management. Anyone interested in learning more about opportunities at the TILL Building should contact Cornu.

To learn more about TILL, check out its Web site at www.tillinc.org.