LYDIA HOME ASSOCIATION
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Mission Statement
LYDIA is committed to serving children and families in crisis. LYDIA Home Association (LYDIA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit child welfare organization, with the following mission: “Strengthening families to care for children and caring for children when families cannot.”
About This Cause
History LYDIA Home Association (LYDIA) was chartered as an orphanage in 1916 after several women from the Ladies Aid Society, who were sewing and mending clothes for children in local orphanages, realized that the orphanages were filled to capacity. In 1917, one of the ladies died from scarlet fever, leaving her husband to care for seven children. He offered his home to the society to start their orphanage if they would help care for his children. As a result, the vision for Lydia Children’s Home had become a reality with seven children. In 1920, LYDIA purchased the building at 4300 West Irving Park Road and continues to serve children and families in need through providing a variety of programs. Over the years, LYDIA has expanded its scope of services to include: residential treatment, foster care, child abuse prevention programs, and academies for at risk youth. LYDIA has also expanded geographically by providing direct services in Indianapolis, Rockford, Davenport, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Ohio, and Maine. LYDIA also collaborates with child welfare agencies to provide services nationally. LYDIA employs over 100 full-time employees, 65 part-time employees and utilized over 2,000 volunteers last year. Mission LYDIA is still committed to serving children and families in distress. LYDIA Home Association (LYDIA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit child welfare organization, publicly supported under Section 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, with the following mission: “Strengthening families to care for children and caring for children when families cannot.” Programs LYDIA is based in the northwest side of Chicago and serves at-risk families from various communities by providing a continuum of services with the aim of improving children’s lives and restoring families. LYDIA, a multi-cultural organization serving a multi-cultural population, serves over 4,000 at risk children and families each year, most of whom are economically disadvantaged and would not have access to services without LYDIA’s commitment to meet the needs of the community regardless of a person’s ability to pay. The following services are provided by LYDIA’s programs: • The Residential Treatment Program in Chicago provides critical care for children age 8-17 who have been scarred by abuse, neglect, and suffering from emotional and behavioral problems. • LYDIA’s Foster Care Program serves children and youth who have experienced abuse, neglect, or other family problems. This program also provides Specialized Foster Care for children who have behavioral or emotional problems that require extra time, attention, and skills from foster parents with specialized training. When possible, case managers work closely with families to facilitate reunification in a manner that protects the child. • The Safe Families program provides a temporary safe home for children and support services for parents in crisis. The success of this program in Chicago has resulted in national media coverage and the program has been replicated throughout the country. The program won the first-place prize for the 2010 Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation, which is a prestigious national award that recognizes existing programs that meet Peter Drucker’s definition of innovation while making a real difference in the lives of the people they serve. Nationally the program has over 2,600 approved safe families, has provided over 12,000 placements for children, and has expanded into 75 locations throughout the country, United Kingdom and Canada in collaboration with 19 child welfare organizations. • The Urban Academies in Chicago and Rockford provide an individualized secondary education for low income students who are at a high risk of dropping out of school due to failure within the traditional school setting. Through providing classroom instruction, mentoring, and job training skills for up to 70 students each year, the academies encourage the students to earn a diploma, develop vocational skills, and contribute to society. • LYDIA Learn & Care provided day care in Chicago at a reduced rate to low income children last year. • LYDIA’s Counseling Centers provided counseling at a sliding scale for low income residents throughout Chicago last year. LYDIA is licensed by DCFS and accredited by the Council on Accreditation.