Missions, Vision and History

Vision
To return at-risk youth to society as healthy contributing citizens.

Mission
Motivated by Christian values and through comprehensive programs, we provide creative environments which will impact our youth. Our professionally trained staff is devoted to teaching and modeling skills for living, stressing the importance of education and social responsibility, so that our youth will learn to stay safe, have healthy relationships, demonstrate self-respect, and contribute to society.

History of Ward Home
At the turn of the 20th century, Pittsburgh's growing steel industry called both mothers and fathers into the workforce. Young children were often left at home, to be cared for by disinterested older siblings or neighbors. Older children roamed the streets. A group of concerned Methodists recognized the need to act quickly; so they adopted bylaws and opened a Day Nursery on Pittsburgh's North Side. Within a short time, hundreds of children were being cared for each year.

It wasn't long before the need to provide overnight care for children became obvious.A permanent building which could be used as a home for children was the solution.Among those supporting the Day Nursery were Robert B. Ward and his wife Catherine.They recognized the importance of providing a home for the children of Pittsburgh.

Involved in the baking business started by his father, Robert's fortunes multiplied early with Ward's Bakeries, which was producing more than two million loaves of bread. When Mr. Ward left the Pittsburgh area, he relocated to New York and was a founder of the Brooklyn Baseball League. By the time of his death in 1915, Ward's will specified that a portion of his estate be set aside for charitable purposes. His widow chose to donate the family home near Schenley High School on Bigelow Street in Pittsburgh as a home for children, and an endowment followed. This residence was dedicated and named the Robert Boyd Ward Home for Children in January of 1918. Thirty-four years later, records show that almost 1,000 children had passed through the doors of the Home.

In 1955, Ward Home broke ground on a home on Moffett Street in Mt. Lebanon, a quiet,picturesque community in Pittsburgh's South Hills. Children at the home continued to be grade-school age throughout most of the 1960s. By 1970, an increasing number of teenagers were being placed at Ward Home, so the agency made changes in order toprovide for the special needs of this older population.

Recognizing that many children would never be reunited with their biological families, nor would they be adopted, Ward Home began to explore the creation of Supervised Independent Living Programs, which it pioneered in 1987. By 1990, the residential program at Moffett Street closed as the children were moved to foster care or Ward Home's independent living programs. However, the building continued to be used as offices for staff who served dozens of troubled and needy children through community-based hildren's programs. Its gymnasium became a popular practice location for local community athletic programs.

In 2005, Ward Home sold its facility on Moffett Street in order to secure funding for future program expansion throughout Allegheny County. The corporate offices moved to Scott Township in the summer of 2005. Today, Ward Home maintains and operates three supervised independent living facilities in Friendship, Wilkinsburg and East McKeesport. It also provides an in-home service through the Allegheny County Independent Living Project.

Ward Home Today
Ward Home is a pioneer for independent living programs for displaced teenagers looking to make the transition from the social services system to adult life. Ward Home strives to enable youths to maximize their potential as human beings and grow into responsible, self-reliant adults. Today we operate three independent living facilities (Supervised Independent Living) for teen girls, teen boys and teen parents as well as an in-home service (Ward Independent Skills Enhancement) that teaches disadvantaged teens, living on their own or with foster parents, the life skills they need to succeed in the adult world. W.I.S.E. is a collaborative effort with the Allegheny County Independent Living Project.