Since 1877, St. Mary's Home for Children has been committed to serving the changing needs of children and families by using the professional, financial and volunteer resources of the community. St. Mary's has provided a variety of culturally competent services that support and preserve families, maximizing the potential for learning and growth.

Description:
St. Mary's has a number of programs. The Residential Treatment Center combines a highly structured living environment with clinical, behavioral and educational components to provide comprehensive milieu treatment for boys, aged 6 to 13, and girls, aged 8 to 18, who are suffering from behavioral and emotional problems.
Fully trained direct care staff, a recreation specialist, certified teachers, and masters level clinicians assist children in achieving success with individual treatment plans. The program includes a registered nurse in the medical department; psychiatric and psychological consultation; and medication monitoring. The on-grounds, fully certified, special education school meets the individual education plans for all children in this residential treatment center. While at St. Mary's, the children work on an individual, interdisciplinary treatment plan combining a highly structured environment with education and clinical components.

Outpatient services are provided to children and their families through the St. Mary's Shepherd Program and the Parent Resource Education Program.
Within the Parent Resource Education Program there are two major components: (1) The Parent Resource Education Program which provides in-home support for families at risk of abuse and neglect; (2) The Sophia Little Independent Living Program which assists teen parents in learning basic skills needed to live healthy, productive, and responsible lives.

In addition, St. Mary's Home for Children provides mental health outpatient treatment for children, adolescents and adults utilizing licensed and master's level clinicians. Diagnoses may include, but are not limited to depression, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, post traumatic stress disorders, attention deficit hyperactive disorders, etc.

History:
ST. MARY'S HOME FOR CHILDREN opened its doors to children in 1877 as an orphanage within the Episcopal Diocese. Reverend Daniel Ingalls Odell was rector of St. Mary's Church in East Providence, Rhode Island when a couple in his parish died leaving two children. During the same winter another couple died leaving five children. Father Odell took them in and provided for their care. St. Mary's has always been a non-profit agency, which has been committed to serving the changing needs of children and families.

In 1879, St. Mary's became an Incorporated Institution, under the name of St. Mary's Orphanage, governed by a Board of Trustees, with the Bishop of the Diocese as President.

By 1925, so many applications had been received that it became necessary to find larger quarters. In 1926, Mrs. Theodore Gibbs from Newport, contributed one hundred thousand dollars to St. Mary's Orphanage. Seven acres of land were purchased in North Providence for a new location. After fifty years in East Providence, Rhode Island, St. Mary's moved to its present site on Fruit Hill Avenue in North Providence. In 1928, the charter was revised to name the orphanage, "St. Mary's Home for Children."

The facilities were extended in 1954, to include a separate residence for teenage girls, St. Martha's House.

In the 1960s, St. Mary's began receiving requests to accept children who displayed behavioral problems both at home and in the community. St. Mary's psychiatric program which had been established in the 1950s proved to be invaluable.

Keeping up with the times and the needs of its clients, the Campus School was established in 1982; developed for behaviorally disordered residential and day students who for various reasons have failed to succeed in public school.

The Shepherd Program was established in 1985 in response to the growing need for therapeutic intervention for child victims. It is a specialized state-of-the-art, out-patient treatment program for child victims of sexual abuse, children with sexual behavior problems, juvenile sex offenders, and their families.

Over the years, St. Mary's has evolved into Rhode Island's largest, most comprehensive treatment facility for abused and neglected boys and girls. Children are treated and cared for in both the Home's residential program located in North Providence, and the outpatient program located in the Sophia Little Building in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Today, St. Mary's Home for Children is governed by a Board of Directors. While it still receives some support from the Episcopal Diocese, St. Mary's is a non-sectarian organization working with children from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Contact person: Susan DeRita, Director Of Development And Communications, (401) 353-3900 x262, (email)
Office fax number: (401) 354-7986

Address:

420 Fruit Hill Avenue N. Providence, RI 02911 (See a map)

Directions:

Fruit Hill Avenue of off Smith Street.

Miscellaneous Information

Handicap accessible?
	Yes
Interests Served:
	Solutions for Children, Youth, Families
Does your agency accept court-appointed volunteers?
	No

Overall Experience   
My volunteer experience was exceptional because I was busy from the moment that I arrived that morning so that four hours flew by and I will be returning again next week.

I volunteered to work in whatever office department I was needed in order to help out while staff was on vacation at a home for abused children. I gained office skills while performing various tasks in the personnel office. posted on July 25, 2005