Causes: Children & Youth, Children & Youth Services, Family Services for Adolescent Parents, Foster Care, Human Services, Residential Care & Adult Day Programs
Mission: Ward Home's mission is to train at risk young adults in practical life skills in safe, nurturing environments in order to live independently as effective, contributing members of the community.
Target demographics: at-risk teens and young adults become independent members of their communities.
Direct beneficiaries per year: 345 teens and young adults
Geographic areas served: Allegheny County
Programs: MissionWard Home’s mission is to train at-risk young adults in practical life skills in safe, nurturing environments in order to live independently as effective, contributing members of the community. HistoryWard Home’s legacy began in 1905 in Allegheny City, now the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Robert B. Ward, a young entrepreneur and president the Ward Baking Company, then the largest baking company in the United States, had a great passion for the welfare of children. Ward established a day nursery for the children of his employees, and was known for his generosity and his dedication to the Pittsburgh community. When Robert B. Ward passed away in 1915, his family home on Bigelow Boulevard in Pittsburgh was donated by his wife and dedicated in his memory to the care of orphaned children. The Robert Boyd Ward Home for Children would go on to help 1,000 children over the next forty years. As times changed, we responded to the increasing number of foster teenagers who were unlikely to be reunited with their biological families or adopted. In 1955, to support these teens in need, the Robert Boyd Ward Home opened its doors at a new, larger location in Mt. Lebanon, PA, to address a growing population of at-risk teenagers and young adults who had no place else to call home. Since 1997, when social services agencies were encouraged to become more community oriented, our mission has focused on our Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program serving at-risk foster teens and young adults in nurturing environments located in neighborhoods throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Now known as Ward Home, Inc. , we have grown to become an independent, nonprofit social service agency, which has strong roots and a proud history of serving our community’s most at-risk youth for over 100 years. ProgramsWard Home’s Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program is a community-based, residential program that serves at-risk foster youth, 16 to 21 years old, who have grown up in the foster-care system. Ward Home foster teens live in apartment-style housing with 24-hour supervision, where they are taught vital life skills in our Life Skills Training Program. The SIL Program is designed to teach foster teens the responsibility of independence through the philosophy of self-discipline. The SIL sites are more than just temporary housing; they are safe, nurturing home environments where the teens are encouraged to reach their individual goals and grow into successful, independent members of the community. Our teen girls site is located in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh, our teen boys site is located in Swissvale Borough, and our teen moms site is located in Wilkinsburg Borough. Emphasis is placed on developing social and life skills, obtaining and maintaining employment and/or volunteer work, completing an education plan, staying safe, and developing healthy relationships. Our foster teens are engaged through enhanced creative and academic enrichment programming so that they become skilled enough to sustain independence. In January 2017, Ward Home was awarded a grant from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to pilot a program that addresses the self-care needs of foster youth in Allegheny County. Ward Home’s My Best Self Program ensures that all foster youth 12 to 21 years old in Allegheny County have access to hair care services and products. Through the My Best Self Program, foster youth have the opportunity to participate in social skills workshops with the goal of enhancing each foster youth in Allegheny County to look good, feel good, and to be their best self.
Mission: Ward Home's mission is to train at risk young adults in practical life skills in safe, nurturing environments in order to live independently as effective, contributing members of the community.
Target demographics: at-risk teens and young adults become independent members of their communities.
Direct beneficiaries per year: 345 teens and young adults
Geographic areas served: Allegheny County
Programs: MissionWard Home’s mission is to train at-risk young adults in practical life skills in safe, nurturing environments in order to live independently as effective, contributing members of the community. HistoryWard Home’s legacy began in 1905 in Allegheny City, now the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Robert B. Ward, a young entrepreneur and president the Ward Baking Company, then the largest baking company in the United States, had a great passion for the welfare of children. Ward established a day nursery for the children of his employees, and was known for his generosity and his dedication to the Pittsburgh community. When Robert B. Ward passed away in 1915, his family home on Bigelow Boulevard in Pittsburgh was donated by his wife and dedicated in his memory to the care of orphaned children. The Robert Boyd Ward Home for Children would go on to help 1,000 children over the next forty years. As times changed, we responded to the increasing number of foster teenagers who were unlikely to be reunited with their biological families or adopted. In 1955, to support these teens in need, the Robert Boyd Ward Home opened its doors at a new, larger location in Mt. Lebanon, PA, to address a growing population of at-risk teenagers and young adults who had no place else to call home. Since 1997, when social services agencies were encouraged to become more community oriented, our mission has focused on our Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program serving at-risk foster teens and young adults in nurturing environments located in neighborhoods throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Now known as Ward Home, Inc. , we have grown to become an independent, nonprofit social service agency, which has strong roots and a proud history of serving our community’s most at-risk youth for over 100 years. ProgramsWard Home’s Supervised Independent Living (SIL) Program is a community-based, residential program that serves at-risk foster youth, 16 to 21 years old, who have grown up in the foster-care system. Ward Home foster teens live in apartment-style housing with 24-hour supervision, where they are taught vital life skills in our Life Skills Training Program. The SIL Program is designed to teach foster teens the responsibility of independence through the philosophy of self-discipline. The SIL sites are more than just temporary housing; they are safe, nurturing home environments where the teens are encouraged to reach their individual goals and grow into successful, independent members of the community. Our teen girls site is located in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh, our teen boys site is located in Swissvale Borough, and our teen moms site is located in Wilkinsburg Borough. Emphasis is placed on developing social and life skills, obtaining and maintaining employment and/or volunteer work, completing an education plan, staying safe, and developing healthy relationships. Our foster teens are engaged through enhanced creative and academic enrichment programming so that they become skilled enough to sustain independence. In January 2017, Ward Home was awarded a grant from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to pilot a program that addresses the self-care needs of foster youth in Allegheny County. Ward Home’s My Best Self Program ensures that all foster youth 12 to 21 years old in Allegheny County have access to hair care services and products. Through the My Best Self Program, foster youth have the opportunity to participate in social skills workshops with the goal of enhancing each foster youth in Allegheny County to look good, feel good, and to be their best self.
1101 Hartman Street, McKeesport, PA 15132
412-673-5800
Children & Youth
McKeesport
