From orphanage to comprehensive services for children and families in need: Guardian Angel celebrates 125 years

Guardian Angel Community Services in Joliet has come a long way since the Joliet Franciscans opened the first home to care for children orphaned because of a fire.

The nonprofit offers adult protective services, the Exchange Club Center, foster care, Groundwork Domestic Violence Program, Hispanic Outreach Program, Partner Abuse Intervention Program, prevention education and professional training in the areas of domestic and sexual violence, the Sexual Assault Service Center and Suzy’s Caring Place, which provides housing and support to domestic violence survivors and their children.

On Wednesday, exactly 125 years since the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate bought a cottage behind its motherhouse to care for children, Guardian Angel held a private celebration in honor of its milestone anniversary, according to Ines Kutlesa, chief executive officer.

Those present included Guardian staff, members of Guardian Angel’s board of directors, the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in Joliet, elected officials and several guests, Kutlesa said.

Assistant majority leader, State. Rep Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, made a special representation of house resolutions in recognition of the 125th anniversary.

Kutlesa said she’s been “blessed” to see the Guardian Angel mission enacted over Kutlesa’s 23 years with the organization and is appreciative of the community’s support.

“We strive to work hard to continue to be a beacon of hope to those who need us most and to continue to realize our mission to provide services that inspire people to improve the quality of their lives in their greatest times of need,” Kutlesa said.

In a written statement, Sister Jeanne Bessette, president of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in Joliet. said the mission of Guardian Angel in its early days was to provide shelter and education to orphaned children. Services later were expanded to children whose families could no longer care for them because of “financial hardship, separation during war, or single parents who were overwhelmed,” Bessette wrote.

Guardian Angel later “opened its doors to youth who were wards of the state for various reasons,” Bessette wrote.

“The mission has evolved to include caring for people of all ages who need protection, a safe harbor from violence, coping skills, mental health support,” Besstte wrote. “Like its early founders who responded to the needs of the time, GACS continues to meet human need as it unfolds around our community. We are grateful to the leaders, staff and board members who continue this legacy as well as to the people who trust their care to Guardian Angel Community Services.”

Kutlesa said 144 donations of $125 would provide 125 nights of 24-hour emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence through Guardian Angel’s Groundwork program. To donate, visit justgiving.com/guardianangelcommunityservices.

A glance backward:

1863: The Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate begin their teaching ministry.

1864: The Sisters begin caring for two children after lightning struck the old St. John the Baptist Church in Joliet during high Mass, killing five people, including one mother. For more than three decades, the Sisters cared for “orphaned, dependent and needy children as boarders in the newly founded St. Francis Academy, in the homes of friendly families in the community or in one of the Sister’s branch houses.”

1897: The Sisters buy a small cottage behind the Motherhouse to house 19 orphans.

1898: The Sisters buy the Fox estate at 117 Buell Ave. in Joliet for $7,600. The Sisters add a second story and steam heating. The building is named Guardian Angel Home. The Sisters hold a Pound Party: a night of fun for a donation of a pound of food.

1905: Ninety children children now live in the home.

1920: A 115-acre farm at Plainfield Road and Theodore Street is bought for a new home.

1926: The children move into the completed building Oct. 10.

1927: Twenty-five apple trees are donated for the home’s farm. The Guardian Angel Club is formed and is active for more than 20 years. Members pay $1 monthly dues and buy food and clothing, attend a monthly Mass and pray a daily rosary.

1928: The Motherhouse sends a printing press to produce finished products for local parishes.

1931: The home starts producing The Guardian Angel Messenger. Cantigny VFW Post No. 30 donates a new flag. Rev. Edward J. Flanagan visits with his boys’ band from Boystown in Omaha, Nebraska.

1932: A group of married couples forms a card club to raise funds.

1933: A grotto of Lourdes is to be built in front of the main building, a two-year project.

1937: More than 160 alumni visit for Guardian Angel’s 40th anniversary. Volunteers build a summer house with a concrete floor for roller-skating.

1940s and 1950s: Guardian Angel now cares for 130 children. The children come from families, court, police, parishes and the Catholic Home Bureau. Some later go to Boystown, the Mission or our Lady of Mercy, return to their own homes, go to foster homes or are adopted.

1951: The number of children referred to institutional care begins to drop because of changes in the child welfare system.

1963: The home now cares for 90 children. Ground is broken on a recreation center with a large gymnasium, kitchen, washrooms, shower rooms, classroom, music rooms and an art room.

1964: The Knights of Columbus Joliet Council No. 382 and the Joliet Shrine Club raise $10,000 for instruments and uniforms for the Guardian Angel Home Band Association, Inc. The band appears in a Halloween parade in downtown Joliet.

1969: Volunteers build an in-ground pool next to the old summer house. It is closed and removed in 2005 when repairs are no longer feasible. About 30 children live in the home.

1973: Guardian Angel Home becomes a separate non-profit corporation with its own board of directors, most of whom are laypersons from the community, and also become a licensed child welfare agency.

1976 to 1979: Guardian Angel starts its Child and Family Guidance Center to provide “individual and family therapy, youth advocacy services for children in crisis who were referred by schools, court or police, emergency foster care and shelter care, crisis intervention services and coordination of the services of youth agencies in Will County.”

1979: Guardian Angel opens the Sterling Group Home for six older boys preparing to live on their own.

1980s: Guardian Angel opens Groundwork, a full-service domestic violence program, and the Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, to serve at-risk families. A 24-hour emergency hotline service is established.

Mid-1990s: Guardian Angel opens an office in Morris for walk-in services.

1994: Groundwork expands its mission to include sexual assault victims.

1997: Guardian begins the Sexual Assault Service Center, Initial services included crisis counseling, a 24-hour hotline, prevention education, and legal and medical advocacy.

1998: SASC’s serves more than 100 sexual violence victims. Groundwork begins a Hispanic Outreach Program with on and off-site services.

2004: The board of directors votes to change Guardian Angel Home’s name to “Guardian Angel Community Services.”

2011: The Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate withdraw sponsorship.

2014: Guardian Angel Community Services relocates to 168 N. Ottawa St. in downtown Joliet.