Our Mission

To encourage independence and provide opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities that will enable them to live and work in the community and improve their quality of life.

Our History

The options for people in Oklahoma with intellectual disabilities in 1963 were very limited. These facilities were often large and impersonal that provided very little in the way of training opportunities and growth.

Helen Gates was notified by the school system that her son, Ronnie, who had turned 20, would have to be transferred to a state institution or to a geriatric nursing facility. Ronnie had Down syndrome.

In 1963, at the corner of 71st and Lewis in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mrs. Gates rented a farmhouse where Ronnie and five other individuals were able to live. Families and volunteers were essential to the success of this group home as at that time there was no funding available to subsidize food, clothing, shelter, and staff for services to people with intellectual disabilities living in the community.

In 1972, government funding became available and land was donated in Broken Arrow where an intermediate care facility was built.

Today, with more than 350 staff members and numerous volunteers, the Gatesway Team continues to serve its many residents “one individual at a time.”