The mission of Villa Maria Continuum is to provide a full range of behavioral health and special education services through caring, compassionate relationships that honor the worth and dignity of each child, adult and family served.

Description:
Villa Maria Continuum is recognized as the 2003 U.S. Senate Productivity Award Winner which is the highest recognition for performance excellence in the state of Maryland. Villa Maria provides services through its Residential Treatment Center, Special Education Schools, Therapeutic Group Home, Behavioral Health Clinics, Crisis Response Services, After School Programs and numerous family outreach services.

History:
Villa Maria Continuum is a part of Catholic Charities of Archdiocese of Baltimore, the largest, human services provider in Maryland. Villa Maria became licensed as a Residential Treatment Center in 1982. Set on 100 acres in a pastoral setting, the headquarters in Timonium, Maryland today houses several clinical programs, two educational programs, and the primary infrastructure that supports all of the remaining 17 programs in the Villa Maria Continuum serving over 4,900 clients in 2003. Programs are offered in eight counties and Baltimore City. The staff of 565 employees is supported by 40 mentors, 54 interns, and an active network of hundreds of volunteers representing over 25 service groups.

Contact people:

Mary Lee Saarbach, Volunteer Services Coordinator , (phone), (email) Carol Shear, Director of Development & Volunteer Services, (phone), (email) Lauren Porter, Mentor Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Address:

2300 Dulaney Valley Road Timonium, MD 21093 (See a map)

Overall Experience   
Cheerful

I arrived on a bright Fall day with a group from my university for a Halloween craft day. I was struck by the beauty of the surrounds; we could see over hills of autumn trees turning gold and red, serene statues of the Mary and the saints welcomed us onto the campus. Once inside the building, we waited for the children to arrive. They bounded in very excited to see us. They were ready for whatever we asked them to do. We all colored on a long piece of paper that was to be put on the wall to decorate for Halloween. All of us college kids had one or two children that he or she connected with. The children really wanted to be heard and liked. I was happy to oblige. It was an experience I held close to me. I loved working with the children, and appreciated the beautiful place that took care of them. When I graduated with a degree in psychology, I was fortunate to become an employee of Villa and work with the children every day. I have worked at Villa for six months now and still love coming in. The organization is committed to helping the children and with that force behind it, it makes Villa Maria a wonderful place to volunteer or work. It is inspiring to be a part of something so positive. posted by RHELM on March 16, 2007