Over The Rainbow Association is thrilled to partner with The Golden Rule, which has created an innovative way for our supporters to donate the value of their unwanted gold to a wonderful cause.  We thank you for considering using The Golden Rule as a way you can help OTR continue to create an increased quality of life for those with physical disabilities through the design, construction, and efficient management of quality, barrier-free housing that is affordable.

Over The Rainbow Association was formed in 1974 by five Chicago-area parents of children with physical disabilities.  Some children had cerebral palsy; others had muscular dystrophy or were born with spinal cord deformities.  All of these children needed a wheelchair for mobility and required some level of assistance.  These parents worried about where their children would live once they reached adulthood and could no longer live at home.  After visiting state-funded nursing homes, these parents were disappointed.  At these facilities, the residents could not come and go as they pleased, they could not choose when they could get out of bed or eat, they could not choose their own personal care attendants, and they certainly could not work or attend school.  As a result, these parents became determined to develop a better housing solution – to build apartments where their adult children could live independently and not have to rely on the State to care for them.  Today, Over The Rainbow Association owns and/or manages seven independent apartment communities in Northern Illinois.  Without our unique housing option most of our current residents would be homeless or reside in state-funded nursing homes or institutions.  With OTR, there is a choice in Illinois where none existed previously.