"Still today, when I go by the area of what was the Erie Infants Home, I look up at it with a smile. I don’t remember it, but I know it played a part in my life, and it was there when I needed it.”

-Faith Kowle

"In the days when the EHCA was still Eire Homes for Children and Youth I had an experience I will always remember.  I was walking down the hall from the residents' section of the building heading for the administrative offices. Billy was heading the other way in his wheel chair. I stopped and chatted with him for a few minutes. Billy was using a voice communicator, which was cutting edge at the time. It allowed him to ‘talk’ by tapping pictures on the screen much like today's iPads, just a little bigger, heavier and much more expensive. As I walked on and was just about to turn the corner to the offices, I could hear Billy's ‘voice,’ so I turned.  He was smiling and saying ‘I love you.’ It brought tears to my eyes that day and every time I think about it.”

-Eileen Stankovich, former employee talking of Bill Melius, still a resident today

"I went to an institution up in Laurelton, and I didn’t like it there.”

-Frances Mokwa, former resident

"When I started working at the agency, people would warn me: ‘You don’t want to work there. It’s scary there. How can you see the people there?’ It never had occurred to me to be afraid, until I was told to be scared.  But it didn’t take long before I realized that the people here weren’t to be scared of, but cared for.  It’s true, I got quite an education working on the same floor with all the kids.  Even after a renovation project separated the offices to the second floor, there wasn’t a day I didn’t go downstairs.  The agency is so loving, so forgiving. My heart’s still there. It’s a place like no other.”

-Karen Beck, retiree

"About 15 years ago, I recommended using hospice for some of our residents  rather than sending them off to the hospital .  I believed trained hospice workers would be a good alternative in these situations.  While this created quite a stir at first, staff really responded  well, and our first instances of using hospice care were  positive and comforting.  It was really a turning point in our end-of-life care.   I truly believe it was important for our residents to be surrounded by our staff who they know to care for and love them.  We allowed our kids to ‘stay at home.’”
-Judy Pratt, guardian, staff trainer, and retired Director of Nursing

"Growing up on East 27^th Street just a few doors down from what was then Erie Infants Home, I grew very curious about the kids on the other side of the fenced yard.  They were often outside playing on their slide and swings, and we would plead with our parents to let us go talk to them.  Every Halloween, when my sisters and I were finished collecting our treats, we would scatter the candies and chocolates out on our kitchen table, and with the help of our parents, sort out what we believed would be ‘good’ candy to share with the kids at Erie Infants Home. Then, my sisters and I would walk down the ‘good’ candy, knock on the front door, and hand over our treats to share with the kids at the home. It really sparked something inside of me, and as I got older, I volunteered with children who had disabilities.”

-Nancy Murray

"Staff fire drills have come a far way. I remember staff wrapping the residents up and sliding out chutes from the second floor windows to get everyone safely out of the building.”

-Susan Ottaway, parent

"In the 1990s, our main facility underwent a 13-month renovation. Residents were living on the second floor, and the first floor was under construction for the North and South Apartment Group Homes;  the administrative offices were created wherever we could find a space for a desk and chair.  Some of the offices were in the Berst House next door, some were on the second floor amid the resident rooms and still others were created in the basement of the main facility.  Being in the basement and using the phone a lot for work, I remember asking people on the other end of the telephone to hold while I waited for the sounds of jackhammers, drills, and hammers to pause, so I could hear what they were saying.  Since the staff lounge was now being used for office space, we needed to find a place for staff to be able to eat their lunch.  Unfortunately, the only area we could find was a very small room next to the elevator shaft.  Because of the noise from the elevator, the strange odor from the pipes that ran down through the room from the first and second floor bathrooms and kitchen, and the fact that it had no windows for light or air, this little make-shift lunch room had much to be desired.  However, all of the staff were really patient and understanding about all of the adjustments that had to be made and actually remember those days as some of the most memorable and humorous. It truly was an adventure!”

-Pat Straub, Executive Secretary

"In 1987, I was hired to open our first group home.  The neighbors living near the new group home requested a meeting with me.  I met with several people, some angry, but all with questions and concerns about people with disabilities moving into their community.  Some were concerned about their property values, others wanted to know who would take care of the home, who was moving in, what types of activities would go on inside, etc. Because I had opened and directed group homes for several years in Pittsburgh, I could comfortably answer their questions and relieve some of their concerns.  I also described the children moving into the home and the great staff that worked for EHCA.  I was not sure that I allayed all of the concerns, but I knew everything was fine on the day that we opened.   Our van pulled into the group home with the first resident who was moving in, and the children of those neighbors came to the van and greeted him and welcomed him to the neighborhood .  They continued to visit afterwards.  It was a wonderful beginning.”

-Hope Ruedy, Director of Community Services

"Upon beginning my career at EHCA, the residents’ needs were simple: they needed loved, and to be dry, warm, clean, and fed. Every day, each individual would find their own way to make one of us smile, laugh, and at the end of the night, hold them close to us. A few years after I started, a saw a change was happening.  It wasn’t just the basic needs that were being met, now we were starting to be their teachers…to help them achieve the everyday goals we ourselves achieve every day: turning on a blow dryer, making popcorn, or placing simple objects into containers. With the movement to group homes, I witnessed residents become even more independent. They participated in making dinner, with the help of an adaptive switch or with their own hands, and they helped set the table. More so, the residents benefitted from having not just a house, but a home: they shared dinner and conversation around a table with friends; they sat on a recliner in their living room and watched their favorite movie; they could hang out in their bedroom listening to music; or they could take a walk in their own back yard.  The importance of the growth of our agency is not measured in the changes themselves, but in how we continue to improve the lives of those who we serve and in how they grow individually.”

-Lynne Yezzi, MOVE Program coordinator

"A lot has changed since I came here in the 1970s for CCT school.  At that time, we were one facility with 50 beds; today, we are a 4-county residential & community based organization with 16 group homes and several programs for community members.  Residents slept in wards with eight beds each, not their personalized bedrooms, like today.  There was one great multipurpose room, where residents ate and spent their days; today, they have living rooms and dining rooms and can choose to move about their homes.  There were no vans; today, residents can go on outings, into the community for appointments or to volunteer, and even take vacations. When I started, the ratio was 4 to 5 staff to about 25 residents; today, there are 2 or 3 residents to one staff. However, some things haven’t changed.  My dorm room was where my office is today, and my bed was right where my desk is. I may not have moved too far, but I’ve grown as much as the agency has, and I feel so blessed for every day I am given the opportunity to come to work for the people we serve.”

- Marcia Nitczynski, program specialist and long-time employee