Chicago’s heart of mercy for the disabled

Chicago’s heart of mercy for the disabled

 

Nestled away in a northern Chicago suburb, among tree-lined streets, white picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns, is a 31-acre complex known as Misericordia. Misericordia, whose name means “heart of mercy” in Latin , is home to more than 600 children and adults with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities.
 
Sister Rosemary, a Catholic nun and devout caregiver, runs Misericordia. She has ushered in a change in care for the disabled that’s being noticed around the country as religious and mental health leaders are visiting Misericordia to see what Sister Rosemary has accomplished.
 
“When I came to Misericordia in 1969, we had 132 children under the age of 6,” said Sister Rosemary. “Sixty-nine of them were babies with Down syndrome. It was a time when professionals were telling parents, ‘Get on with your life, they’re not going to amount to much anyway, you have other children to worry about.’ When I came, I came as a social worker and a teacher with that kind of background. I had no experience in special education, but the day I walked into Misericordia  I thought, ‘This is right — thank you God, this is right.’”
 
Sister Rosemary was one of the first caregivers who believed that caring for the disabled was about more than just providing the basics for these children — it was about making sure they enjoyed every minute of life.
 
Since taking over Misericordia in the late ’60s, Sister Rosemary has expanded the campus into a sprawling home where those with disabilities have jobs, responsibilities and constant activities, from painting pictures to baking sweet goods. Every year, residents’ artworks are auctioned off at the Art Institute of Chicago, raising thousands of dollars.
 
Residents who need constant care are helped at a special facility that provides daily medically advanced therapy, ranging from sensory to aquatic, performed by a team of experts.
 
Sister Rosemary said that all of these programs are helping residents to live longer.
 
“We developed really wonderful programs, and I see the children who are now adults today living at Misericordia, enjoying good lives, living very independent as they can,” she said.
 
All these programs come at a cost. Misericordia is partly funded by the state of Illinois, but Sister Rosemary said that if Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new budget passes, the institution will be forced to increase its fundraising. Right now, Misericordia must raise $15 million in private funds annually to keep its doors open; if the governor’s budget passes, Sister Rosemary said that it would have to raise $21 million annually.
 
Despite the financial concerns, Misericordia continues to serve and grow as new homes are currently being built for the community’s aging population. That’s a group of residents who just a generation ago would not have grown to old age.
 
“Years ago, a person with Down syndrome generally died when they were 12 or 15 years old,” said Sister Rosemary. “Today, doctors and teachers and therapists are all involved in their lives, so they’re living longer. Our oldest resident (with Down syndrome) is 68 years old.”
 
Even though she doesn’t have any children of her own, she feels as if all the residents at Misericordia are her children.
 
“It’s been a joy,” said Sister Rosemary, “as a religious sister to have this opportunity of being a mother to so many of them.”