Timeline of Milestones

1912  In September, thirteen women met to discuss the immediate need for a home for abandoned children.  A house at 947 West Seventh Street was rented, furnished and staffed.  By November, there were six children under their care.

1913  The Erie Infants’ Home and Hospital was incorporated, a building fund was established, and it was realized that the need for this facility was even greater than was first anticipated.

1914  The need for larger quarters prompted the home to move to West Eleventh Street.

1916  Cash and property at Sixth and Hess were used to purchase a home, belonging to Dr. Schlaudecker, on East 26th Street.  Later this property became the nurses’ home.

1918  During the war, a small staff and board volunteers cared for the countless children who had been abandoned or had parents unable to care for them.

1921  A $7,000 mortgage was burned.

1922  The building fund was continued as plans for a new facility were formulated.

1927  A new state-of-the-art facility was opened at 226 East 27th Street.  Building costs were $68,388.30, and the board assumed a mortgage of $32,000.

1938  A gala tea at the home celebrated the burning of the mortgage.

 

1942An influx of war babies and shortage of staff again prompted board members to volunteer their time caring for the children. 1945  The Child Care Technician (CCT) training program began.  This helped prepare adequate qualified attendants for the children of the home. 1949  The nurses’ home was renovated. 1956  A Ford Foundation grant of $22,900 was received. 1957  The house west of the home (later known as the cottage and currently known as the Berst House) on 27th Street was purchased from the Scobell family to be the superintendent’s living quarters.  A lot to the east of the nurses’ home was also purchased.  The CCT program was expanded to a twelve-month curriculum.

1958  The first Angel Ball was held.  A Memorial Bed Fund was established for beds, bedding, etc.  More and more children were being placed in foster care so other needs in the community were investigated.

1959  Erie Infants’ Home and Hospital became licensed to care for developmentally disabled children.  At the end of 1959, the census included 14 nondevelopmentally disabled and 22 developmentally disabled children.
 

1960  Gradual renovation and redecoration began and the services of the home were expanded to serve seven counties. 1961  “Play ladies” were organized to work with some of the developmentally disabled children in the form of physical therapy. 1962-63  Celebration of the Golden Anniversary of the Erie Infants’ Home and Hospital took place this year.

 1964  The CCT program expanded by offering the students nursing instruction, food and nutrition lectures, practicum and field trips.  Members of the board were instructors.

1967  Plans for a new wing at the south end of the home were drawn.

1968  The charter was redrawn to include care of developmentally disabled children.

1970  The south addition was completed and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in celebration.

1971  The home became part of a pilot project to educate exceptional children.  Ten of the children attended stimulation classes.  The loan for the new wing which had cost over a quarter million dollars was retired.

1973  “Hospital” was dropped from the agency’s name.

1974  A fully accredited educational program for the developmentally disabled began at the “cottage.”  The Gertrude A. Barber Center and an Infant Toddler Program funded by MH/MR served the residents at the home.

1976  The Dr. Benjamin Rush Award for Outstanding Service to the Community was received.  A physical therapist was hired and the residents participated in more field trips.

1977  The nurses’ home was razed.

1979  Respite care was researched as a possible community service.  New signs were installed on 26th and 27th Streets.

1980  Grants from the Erie Community Foundation and the Greater Erie Charity Golf Classic were used to purchase the first van with a wheelchair lift for use by our residents.  The CCT program was enriched by joining forces with Vo-Tech.  

1982  Planning began for a therapy wing in the Main Facility to house the Physical, Occupational and Recreational Therapy Departments. A community luncheon was held to celebrate the 70th Anniversary.

1983  The name was changed to reflect the age of the residents - Erie Infants and Youth Home, Inc.  Summer camp was held, which included community children as well as residents of the home.  Offices were added to the front of the home.

1984  When the therapy wing was dedicated, more than 100 people attended.  Bed capacity grew from 50 to 52.

1985  The “Be a Friend” program, in which board members remember a child on special occasions with a card or gift began.

1986  The Governor’s Keystone Award of Excellence was received in recognition of outstanding community volunteer service, and the Erie Jaycees Distinguished Service Award:  Outstanding Young Pennsylvanian was received by Kathleen Allison, Administrator.  Two pieces of property to the west of the home on East 26th Street were purchased.

1987  Celebration of Erie Infants and Youth Home’s 75th Anniversary.  An Intermediate Care Facility for People with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR) Group Home was opened on Roxanna Drive.  Plans for continued expansion of services and facilities continued.

1988  The Saltsman Road group home, funded by a Waiver Program, opened to house five Erie County adults who had been living in Polk State Center.

1989  Intermediate Unit classes moved from Erie Infants and Youth Home to Technical Memorial High School.  All residents attending school programs are now served outside the agency.

1990  A $46,000 Legislative Initiative Grant was received from Representative Bernard Dombrowski to purchase a wheelchair accessible van, an above ground swimming pool and deck, and to make needed repairs to the facility.  

1991  Construction began on ICF/MR houses on Cider Mill and Cumberland Roads.  The conversion to group homes project was underway, funded in large part by a $3 million bond issue and a Capital Campaign.  The Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs awarded the agency more than $250,000 in grant funds for the conversion project.

1992  Sixteen residents of the Erie Infants and Youth Home moved into their new homes; construction began on houses at East 38th Street and Walbridge Road properties.  The minimum goal of $300,000 was surpassed. 

1993  The agency celebrated its 80th Anniversary and received honorable mention for the “Everyday Lives Vision to Reality Award” recognizing quality of services.  Two new group homes were opened, East 38th Street and Walbridge Road.  Twelve residents moved from the Community Residential Facility into two apartments at the 27th Street location.  The Saltsman pool was opened after significant renovations.  Renovations began on the 27th Street facility.  Repairs and improvements were completed on the Roxanna Drive group home.

1994  The agency name was changed from Erie Infants and Youth Home to Erie Homes for Children and Adults, Inc.  A new logo was created.  The Options program, which provides services and skill training to families providing in-home care for developmentally disabled adults and children, admitted its first clients in January, and by June, had grown to 11 individuals.  The Teddy Bear Picnic, the first major fundraiser in over five years, was held in February.  In May, the agency purchased the Tulane Avenue group home property in Millcreek Township.

1995  A grant of $90,000 from the Department of Community Affairs enabled the construction of the Tulane group home.  The home’s March opening coincided with the closing of the Community Residential Facility.   EHCA received its first national award, the National Safety Council Award for Improvement in the Quality of Life for People with Disabilities.  The Options program had grown to 16 clients.  A $10,000 grant was received from the Erie Community Foundation facilitating the completion of the computer network at the Main Facility.

1996  The Saltsman Road group home renovations, which included the addition of a separate entrance to the pool area, locker rooms and a family room, were completed.  A grant was received for $15,869 from the Pennsylvania Attorney General for Roxanna renovations which were completed the same year.  An Employee Wellness Program was implemented.  EHCA received the Zero Accident Culture Award for one full year without a compensable lost time injury. 

1997  MOVE (Making Opportunities for Volunteerism and Exploration), EHCA’s community day support program began in September and Project First Step (PFS) began in November.  PFS provides early intervention services for at-risk birth families.  The Memorial Garden was constructed with the official dedication on July 22.  A $5,000 grant from A.J. & Sigismunda Palumbo Trust and a $10,000 grant from PNC Bank Foundation were awarded for respite renovations.  The Options program now serves 35 individuals.  In May, the agency purchased property for a future Waiver-funded group home on Aris Drive in Millcreek Township.  EHCA celebrates its 85th Anniversary.

1998  The Whitney Way Group Home in Lawrence Park opened on June 15.  The Life Sharing Through Family Living program, which matches families paid to care for individuals with mental retardation in their own home, began in June.  Office space was obtained through a donation by Gerard T. Uht, Sr. in Suite 90 and 150 in the Professional Building.

1999  The Region IX Award for Full Community Inclusion, American Association on Mental Retardation was awarded to EHCA’s MOVE program.  Walbridge Road group home received outdoor improvements to the facility.  Dr. & Mrs. B.R. Chekka donated office space in Suite 255 in the Professional Building.  Project First Step introduces doula services, a program that provides a childbirth assistant to work with mothers and medical professionals.

2000  The Public Citizen of the Year Award, Northwest Division of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers was awarded to Executive Director Paul Carpenedo.  EHCA launched its School Age Program.  This after-school and full summer program is a joint effort between EHCA and the YMCA of Greater Erie County and is an inclusive program bringing together children with and without disabilities.  EHCA received a grant from the Erie Community Foundation in the amount of $65,000, for renovations to Suite 255 in the Professional Building located at 1611 Peach Street.  Dale and Ruth Roth donated office space in Suite 375 in the Professional Building. 

2001  July 1 saw the opening of the Meadville office.  EHCA’s 12th group home opened at 216 E. 27th Street.    Renovations  were completed on the Cumberland Road group home.  Technology grants of $5,000 each from PNC and Mellon Bank were received to update the agency’s Internet/Intranet capabilities.  EHCA’s MOVE program participated in the International Year of the Volunteer program.  Duffy Duckbill the Wishing Platypus, a children’s book written by past EHCA president Beverly Gittrich, becomes a new fundraiser for the Special Needs Fund.  Project First Step receives a second grant of $150,000 from the Children’s Trust Fund of Pennsylvania.

2002  EHCA’s 13th group home, on Rockwood Drive, in Titusville, PA, opened in February.  This is EHCA’s first group home in Crawford County.  On March 14, 212 East 27th Street (respite) opened.  EHCA’s 1st Annual Spring Swing raised over $16,000 for the Endowment Fund.  EHCA received a $55,000 Department of Community and Economic Development grant ftom State Senator Jane Earll and State Representative Linda Bebko-Jones for the remodeling of Suite 90 in the Professional Building.   EHCA’s Wrap Around Program began.  EHCA celebrates 90 years of caring for the community.

2003 An open house and dedication was held at the new Rockwood group home in Titusville in July.  Remodeling of Suite 90 in the Professional Building to house the School Age Program was completed in February, and a dedication for the new space was held in August. Downsizing the Roxanna Drive group home was accomplished through the purchase of the Skyline Drive property which was remodeled and opened in June.  The 2nd Annual Spring Swing was held at The Kahkwa Club, netting $24,577 for the Endowment Fund. 

2004 The Roxanna Drive group home was closed.  The agency’s first contract to offer residential services to the Erie County Office of Children and Youth was developed in December, and the Roxanna Drive group home reopened to serve one individual in the agency’s new Children’s Therapeutic Living program.  The Options program served 78 individuals by year end.  By year end, Project First Step had delivered 137 healthy babies since inception of the program.  The Saltsman pool was remodeled and a dedication for the reopening was held in November.

2005 The MOVE Studio renovation project began in June.  Two individuals received service from the Children’s Therapeutic Living program.  The Partners in Dance collaboration between MOVE and Dafmark Dance Theater completed its fourth year with a dance performance at St. Benedict Community Center.  The agency purchased a 24,000 sq. ft. building to be used as a maintenance headquarters, garage and warehouse space at 501 East 19th Street.

2006 Groundbreaking for the second group home in Crawford County, Woodland, took place in January.  The home opened in March and a dedication and open house was held in September.  The Project First Step program received the Northwest Pennsylvania Communities That Care Award for recognition, appreciation and outstanding community service in March.  The MOVE program celebrated its 9th anniversary and was selected by PAR to make speaker gifts for the 2006 PAR Conference.  Three hundred and fifty three individuals were provided supports through EHCA programs.  Over 118 EHCA employees had achieved more than five years of service.  The Annual Appeal once again set a record high, netting $48,572. 

2008  OASIS Program began at Mercyhurst North East with its first class of developmentally disabled students commencing a one-year culinary certification program with college classes beginning in the fall.  Six graduates successfully earned their certifications the next spring.

2009  Services were expanded into Potter County, allowing EHCA to serve four counties in total: Erie, Crawford, Venango, and Potter.  A new Memorial Wall was dedicated at the August Memorial Service.