Over 140 years ago, across the square from the White House in Washington, DC, the parishioners of St. John’s Episcopal Church made a commitment to assist people in the community suffering in the aftermath of the Civil War.  Children were orphaned, homeless, begging and even drinking from the sewers of our nation’s capital.  Adults were injured, sick and penniless.  The parishioners rallied and created a number of charities.  One that persevered since 1868 is St. John’s Community Services.

For several years, the ladies of the church volunteered to feed and care for children and adults on the streets of Washington; then in the mid-1870’s, a hospital was founded to care for them.  (The members of the Ladies Aid Society were the predecessors of today's Founders Board of St. John's Community Services.) By the 1880’s, SJCS transitioned to care for children who were orphaned and in need of a loving home.  The orphanage continued its mission for nearly 80 years until, with the advent of foster care and changing community needs, it was transformed in 1957 to St. John’s Child Development Center, the first alternative in Washington, DC, to the appalling government operated institution.

The Center primarily supported children with mild to moderate mental retardation until 1980. Based on a community needs assessment, it was determined that it could best serve the DC community by providing 1) education services for children with more severe disabilities such as autism, 2) and early intervention program for infants and toddlers, and 3) community living (residential services), vocational and education services for adults with disabilities. This began a process of growth and diversification for the organization that continues today. 

Driving Social Change

By driving social change throughout its history, St. John’s has fought for the equality and acceptance of people with disabilities. In the 1980’s, when the state institution, Forest Haven, was ordered to close by court order, SJCS was among the first to create homes in the community for the former residents. In 1989, SJCS embraced a new mission and commitment to support people in typical community settings, and became 100% community-based. In the late 1990’s, SJCS closed the Child Development Center and moved it and the children into the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Today under the joint supervision of SJCS and DCPS, children with disabilities enjoy the benefits of an education with their non-disabled peers.

SJCS was also the first service provider to create individual volunteer and employment opportunities in the community within the non-disabled workforce. SJCS was the first to pioneer such services in Northern Virginia at the request of several local governments.  In Tennessee, SJCS fought and won both a state and a federal fair housing discrimination lawsuit when neighbors attempted to stop three disabled women attempting to return to their community after years of unnecessary institutionalization, and discriminated against the African American staff supporting their successful transition back to the community.  SJCS was among the first nonprofit providers in New Jersey to answer the call to close down an institution in Princeton and to expand residential and inclusive day services throughout the state.  In Pennsylvania, SJCS responded to the Philadelphia government to create the first supported employment program for residents with severe disabilities under a court order to leave the abusive Pennhurst State Institution. 

Regardless of the challenges—societal perceptions, legislation, funding—SJCS remains resolute in our purpose of advancing community support and opportunities for people living with disabilities.