The Lewis B. Puller Center in Gloucester has made a number of changes in recent months, including hiring a new person to head the staff that assists disabled clients with life skills and meaningful work.

Laurie Kincaid of Williamsburg is the new senior operations manager. She heads a staff of five full-time and two part-time workers.

Kincaid said she and the staff help about 50 individuals who come to the center, some Monday through Friday and others just on a couple of those days. Each person receives individual attention, including activities of various kinds for those who are unable to work. The intellectually disabled clients who can work are paid to do jobs as varied as filling first aid kits, bagging mica chips and assembling conveyor belts.

“Many of them are autistic and are very good workers,” Kincaid said of the clients, who look forward to coming to work and know they will be remunerated for their efforts.

The center has undergone a number of structural change...