Our History

HeartShare Human Services incorporates on July 12 as Catholic Guardian Society of Brooklyn and Queens, and starts assisting over 5,000 orphaned and destitute children upon their release from childcare institutions and orphanages at a time when neither society nor the law provides them any protections.

As the drug epidemic explodes in U.S. cities, children of every age become at-risk. New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare certifies HeartShare for foster care services for youth 16 years old and older. HeartShare offers services without any age restrictions.

Under a Federal court mandate after the exposure of horrific conditions at Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, New York State agrees to close the institution and provide community-based living for over 5,000 individuals. At the request of the state, HeartShare opens its first group home – Clinton Residence – for seven boys from Willowbrook and one boy living within the community.

Medical research indicates that early intervention for children diagnosed with developmental disabilities greatly enhances their chances for more appropriate development. HeartShare opens two of its First Step Early Childhood Centers, one in Brooklyn and one in Queens. The Centers are the first of its kind in New York City for children two to five years of age.

As group homes flourish throughout our community, there is a corresponding need for additional adult day programs that provide training and community inclusion opportunities, consistent with the normal rhythms of life. HeartShare locates its first educational program for adults with developmental disabilities – the Eileen and William Lavin Day Treatment Center – in Williamsburg.

As HIV/AIDS spreads throughout the general population, children face greater challenges, including the inevitability of foster care and adoption. HeartShare initiates its HIV/AIDS Scattered Site Housing and Case Management Programs to ensure dignified family living and holistic services for the stable well-being of families affected by HIV/AIDS. Economic realities force parents into the out-of-home workforce, creating more “latchkey” children vulnerable to “street” society. HeartShare opens its first Youth Program PS 329’s Beacon Program — that provides after-school educational and recreational opportunities, as well as social services, for young students in a safe and supervised environment within the heart of their own community.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who have advanced beyond traditional day treatment services, are ready for a productive, self-fulfilling role in the community. HeartShare’s Queen Day Habilitation Program in Bayside, Queens is the first Day Hab in New York City.

In 1999, St. Vincent’s Services (SVS) first opened its licensed Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Program. In 2007, SVS launched its Supportive Housing Initiative, serving adult clients who struggle with substance abuse, mental health issues and/or developmental disabilities. The program provides health and drug treatment and supports to encourage independence.

Community leaders, responding to parents of children with autism and frustrated by the lack of adequate services, ask HeartShare to expand its education services by developing a school-age program focused on children, ages five to 21 years, on the autism spectrum. In April, the HeartShare Education Center, an affiliate of HeartShare, opens its doors.

Seeking to provide full-service programs for children on the autism spectrum, the Craig and Susan Eaton Residence for girls and the Joseph and Laura Caruana Residence for boys open in Brooklyn, adjacent to the Center, offering an alternative to children who would otherwise would have been sent upstate or out of state. Opened in 2011, HeartShare’s SPA Overnight Respite Program is located on the second floor of a spacious two-family home in Great Kills, Staten Island. With its focus on autism, it was the first overnight program of its kind for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New York City.

As public policies affecting the structure and funding of the childcare system and services for those diagnosed with developmental disabilities continue to evolve to yet uncertain paradigms, HeartShare enters its second century prepared to meet those challenges, remaining true to its mission to nurture and support, with dignity and respect, children, adults and families in order to expand opportunities and enhance lives.