About Us

Timeline

1865: Erring Woman’s Refuge is incorporated

1867: Martin Van Arsdale, then a theology student, creates the Newsboys’ and Bootblacks’ Mission, later Newsboys’ and Bootblacks’ Association (or Newsboys’ Home). Van Arsdale will go on to create many homes for children, including the Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois (CHASI).

1869: Creation of the Chicago Home for Boys, associated with the Episcopal Church

1871: All of the organizations survive the Great Chicago Fire

1889: Jane Addams’ Hull House, influential on all social services organizations, opens in Chicago

1909: Francis Hardy purchases land at Lawrence and Francisco, five acres of which he donates to the combined Chicago Home for Boys and the Newsboys’ and Bootblacks’ Association to build a new home for boys.

1912-1914: Lawrence Hall is built on the land at Lawrence and Francisco, and about 100 boys move in.

1912: The Chicago Refuge for Girls buys 34 acres of land “near the city limits” to build cottage-style homes for girls, but World War I halts this plan and the organization never makes the move.

1914 and 1916: Judge Mary Bartelme opens the first two group homes for girls from Juvenile Court; they are called the Mary Club.

1921: The third Mary Club, created by Judge Bartelme with the Friendly Big Sister’s League for women of color, opens.

1930s: During the Depression, the role of government in child welfare grew, and the child welfare field became increasingly professionalized.

1940: The Mary Clubs officially changed their name to the “Mary Bartelme Club.”

1943: Randall House was founded by the Rev. Leonard Anderson.

1957: Randall House received the Human Relations Award from the Chicago Commission on Human Relations for being “the first private interracial home for dependent boys” and for its “extraordinary success in the care of its children.”

1960: The Chicago Home for Girls merged with the Mary Bartelme Club, creating “Mary Bartelme Homes and Services.”

1964: Signaling the growing role of the state in child welfare, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was created, serving 4,000 children that year.

1968: Lawrence Hall merged with Randall House.

1969: Two cottages were built on the Lawrence Hall campus; two more were finished in 1971, and the last two in 1974.

1972: Lawrence Hall opened a private on-campus special education school for residents. It was accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1974.

1974: The old Lawrence Hall building was torn down.

1974: Last Chicago orphanage, Angel Guardian, was closed.

1975: Lawrence Hall changed its name to “Lawrence Hall School for Boys.”

1982: Lawrence Hall’s school began to serve children from the community.

1988: Lawrence Hall and Mary Bartelme Homes and Services merged, and the organization was renamed “Lawrence Hall Youth Services.”

1989: Girls attended Lawrence Hall’s school the first time. Lawrence Hall received the Beatrice Foundation Award for Management Excellence.

1990: Lawrence Hall pioneered in the development of Therapeutic Recreation as an element in all of its programs.

1993: Mary Hollie is appointed Chief Executive Officer, promoted from LHYS programs.

1998: The IBM “Key Pals” program was launched to help students develop their computer skills and build relationships with business professionals.

2003: Lawrence Hall started the first peer jury program in a child welfare agency in the nation; it won a community service award from the Chicago Council on Urban Affairs.

2004: Because of the Therapeutic Day School’s expertise and success with emotionally, behaviorally and learning disabled children, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) chose it to take part in a groundbreaking initiative, the Cluster Private Schools Initiative, to serve CPS students diagnosed with these disabilities.

2006: Lawrence Hall was awarded the first Outstanding Leadership in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Award by United Way, recognizing excellence in performance and accountability systems.

2007: Lawrence Hall piloted a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Support Program to provide youth with a safe, non-judgmental space to express themselves.

2008: Lawrence Hall opens its new Residential Treatment Center located on the 5-acre campus on Francisco Avenue.

2008: The Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children (COA) voted to reaccredit LHYS through 2012.