Description
Our History and Beyond
House of the Good Shepherd has celebrated over 156 years of service to disadvantaged and marginalized women and children in Chicago. It was on May 20, 1859-when the Civil War had not yet started and Chicago was only 26 years old-that four Good Shepherd sisters first arrived from St. Louis.
During the last 156 years, House of the Good Shepherd has served women recovering from prostitution, troubled adolescents, immigrant women with no resources, and other women and children in difficult circumstances. We have always responded to whatever the current needs of the community may be.
Since 1980, when House of the Good Shepherd created one of the first domestic violence programs in Chicago, more than 5,000 mothers and children affected by family violence have rebuilt lives of dignity and purpose here.
On July 1, 2015, HGS is continuing its mission with even greater support, as the Sisters of the Province of Mid-North America transferred their corporate leadership over House of the Good Shepherd to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
House of the Good Shepherd will remain a completely separate 501(c)(3) corporation with its own independent Board of Directors and staff, just like in the past, so nothing has changed other than giving HGS greater operational support and resources in order to continue its individual, vital mission.
