Our House

 
 
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  Our Story
 
The heart and soul of Our House of Minnesota lies in the family and friends who started these group homes in July of 1975, Archbishop John Roach, Sister Carol Podlasek, Leonora Sherman, Jane Thames, Virginia Leach, and many others, and who themselves or family members continue to be a part of its success today.  Now, 30 years later, some of these people and their families still serve on our Board of Directors, serve on committees, and are still an active part of the group homes and the residents’s lives.  Family, friends, and their dedication to this organization and its residents are the reasons we have such a strong and unique story.
Historically, individuals we serve were often removed from their families and their communities to reside in large institutions far from home.  This seemed to be the only option for parents who were looking for a place for their disabled child to live, and our founding members felt these placements were not proper homes for their loved one.   In an effort to provide a better option for a person with disabilities looking to live independent of the family home once they reached adulthood, Our House of Minnesota, with the help of the Archdiocese, purchased the first of two homes in 1975 and committed its use to the service of people with mental retardation.  “Our House” would be exactly that, their home, a small home-like environment where they could live but also be serviced and have their needs met as adults living with mental retardation.

Our House of Minnesota began providing these services in 1975 through the grass-roots efforts of parents, relatives, and friends of individuals with mental retardation.  These people were some of the original pioneers of the concept of meeting the needs of people with retardation in small home-like environments in the communities in which they lived and near their families, rather than the large disconnected institutional settings available at the time.  Our Board of Directors continues to be made up of individuals who represent a cross section of our community, possessing the same commitment to the values and goals held by those who originally made this dream the reality it still is today.

 


 
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©2007 Our House of Minnesota, Inc.
1846 Portland Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104