A Brief History of Kennedy House

In February of 1971, a group of concerned community members got together to discuss a new vision for providing care to young people. Kennedy House was launched the following year, as a not-for-profit organisation, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, some of who have remained involved to the present day. In the early seventies most children were being cared for in large institutions. Kennedy House believed that care could be more effectively provided in small family-like group homes, a notion which is now the norm in our field.

From the beginning, several principles have have been embodied in the day-to-day operation of Kennedy House:

• Kennedy House is willing to work with youth who have broken down other placements, or who may otherwise be difficult to place
• The intake process expedites rapid access to the programs, rather than serving as an barrier, allowing us to quickly respond to the urgent needs of placing agencies
• The types of programs we offer can change, as the needs of our placing agencies change
• The professionals who work at Kennedy House strive to support the front-line Child and Youth Workers, whose role is central in the effective care of our clients
• Kennedy House provides the opportunity for staff to learn and advance

The first Kennedy House group home, located on Kennedy Road in Scarborough, continues to operate today. From this beginning, Kennedy House has continued to expand. It presently incorporates five group homes in the Greater Toronto Area, each serving a unique client group. These client groupings include males from age 10 to 16, at three very different programs, and girls at two others, one designed to serve higher risk clients.

Kennedy House has also provided services to the Youth Justice sector since 1980. We have operated secure custody programs in a number of locations. We also successfully operated a high staff ratio open custody program, for fifteen years. Under the current Youth Justice Act, the use of custodial dispositions has been de-emphasised. Nonetheless, Kennedy House Youth Centre in Ajax, a 24 bed secure facility, continues to operates as an important component in this sector. This state-of-the-art facility was built by Kennedy House, came in under it’s projected budget and opened in June of 1998.

Kennedy House will continue to grow and expand, as we go on providing effective treatment to young people and meet the ever changing needs of our placing agencies. The vision created in the early 70’s, at our founding meeting, will continue to be embodied in the programs that we operate.