HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHILDREN’S HOME
The Catholic Children’s Home in Alton is sponsored and primarily supported by the Catholic Diocese in Springfield, Illinois, and serves to promote and care for the needs, education and welfare of dependent, neglected or otherwise needy children and youths who need structured care away from their own homes. This service is provided by Catholic Charities of the
Diocese of Springfield at the Catholic Children’s Home without regard to poverty, riches, race, religion or national origin of the youths. In September 1879, a group of Precious Blood Sisters from Ruma, Illinois opened an orphanage, Pio Nono Orphan Asylum in Piopolis, Illinois. This was incorporated in Illinois on March 28, 1883. The sisters worked diligently with the children at Piopolis until 1884 when Bishop Peter J. Baltus of the Alton Diocese requested the Sisters to relocate the orphanage to the City of Alton and occupy the James H. Lea residence as the new orphanage. It was Bishop Baltus’ intention that the relocation of the orphanage would serve more children in the Diocese. As the number of children increased under the care of the Sisters, so did the size of the residence as the result of several additions over the years. However, the residence for the orphans soon became inadequate for the number of children being served, and in 1896, the first unit of a new home was built on the northeast side of the old Lea home by Bishop James Ryan. Ten years later, Bishop Ryan erected a second unit of the residence on the southwest side. In 1908, a third unit was completed after the old Lea residence was torn down. World War I brought on new demands, and the old orphanage found itself crowded with 250 children. It had survived many hardships, not the least of which was the terrible influenza epidemic of 1918. At one time, 108 children were bedfast with the dreaded disease and isolation was impossible due to the crowed conditions. While the disease claimed many lives elsewhere, only two cases proved fatal at the Children’s Home. Bishop Ryan, realizing the need for more accommodations for the growing number of children, implemented the plans of establishing a larger home for the children of the Diocese. A new tract of land containing about thirteen acres, on State Street in the 1400 block, was purchased by the Bishop as a site for the new Children’s Home. The people of the Diocese responded generously to Bishop Ryan’s appeal for this new children’s home, and the new building was ready for occupancy in the fall of 1923. The old residence across the street from St. Peter & Paul Cathedral became known as the Loretto Home, and it housed working girls and later became a retirement home for women. The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood served at the retirement home until 1972, when its doors were finally closed after years of service to the young and old. With changing times, the programs and methods at the Catholic Children’s Home have changed. By the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the population shifted from “orphans” to more dependent and neglected children. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the living arrangements changed from an “institutional” atmosphere to that of smaller apartment group living. Today, the Catholic Children's Home continues its mission by providing a Special Education Day School, for children with learning disabilities, developmental and behavioral disorders and through its comprehensive residential services for children in crisis. Its dynamic programming has been continually updated to best meet the changing needs of the communities and families it serves. The Special Education Department, which began in August 1972, provides year round educational and therapeutic services to students ages 5 through 21, who due to a variety of social, emotional and/or educational difficulties, have been unsuccessful in public school programs. Students who require a high degree of positive structure and who need intensive, individualized educational and therapeutic services, experience social and academic successes through the Special Education Department Program. These students are bussed to and from their homes daily from about 20 different school districts. Residential Services consist of long term, diagnostic and emergency shelter care programs for boys ages 11 through 18 years. The programs are involved with all aspects of youth care including social, academic and independent living skills taught by trained staff in a loving, caring “family” environment. When necessary, the youth also receive medical, eye and dental care; counseling, psychological evaluations and specialized care to assist them in learning alternate social behaviors to replace problematic behaviors. The goals for the youth are to enable him to succeed in a less structured environment. LIFT, our Transitional Living Program, is for boys from 17 years of age to 21. The mission of the Learning Independence For Tomorrow Program is to aid young men who have been separated from their homes and disconnected from the families or long-term support systems lead self- sufficient, healthy, productive, and responsible adult lives. The LIFT Program is to help young men learn to integrate into the community and become functioning independent adult members of the community by identifying and developing individual strengths, coping skills, social skills and life management skills. Knowing that most young men will have challenges and setbacks in relation to life management skills, it is the philosophy of the LIFT Program to provide a compassionate and supportive environment in which young men can learn different strategies and options for successful life management. The Catholic Children's Home in the future will remain dedicated to its mission to aid, protect and care for the needs, education and welfare of dependent, neglected, abused or otherwise hurting children and families without regard to poverty, riches, race, religion or national origin. This is achieved by assessing the needs of children and designing programs in the residential and educational components to meet these needs.
