Alton's Catholic Children's Home Invites Community to Open House and Fundraiser
With an open house on Sept. 27 and a ball on Nov. 22, 2025, the community has many opportunities to support the home's work.
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ALTON - The Catholic Children’s Home encourages people to come by their open house and see firsthand the work they do to support local kids.
From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, community members can tour the building, meet the staff, and enjoy a free pancake breakfast from 8–10 a.m. Michael, who works on the home’s administrative team, looks forward to welcoming the community.
“Take some tours, and just get an overall view of what the Children’s Home does today,” he said. “We really want you to come out so you can get an understanding of what we do. We are really the hidden treasure in Alton. We provide a lot of services to the kids and families, so come out and see us.”
The Catholic Children’s Home has two main departments: school and residential. The Center for Children to Heal and Achieve is a school for some of the kids who live at the home and those who live in surrounding communities.
Michael explained that they work with students who have had “some difficulties in their prior educational setting.” With a “holistic” approach, the school department works to address any challenges these kids are facing outside of the classroom so they can be successful within the school.
The residential program is for kids ages 11–18. Rodney, who oversees the residential department, explained that these kids live at the home. The residential department works with the kids to reunite them with their families or help them find adoptive families. Rodney emphasized that the staff members work hard to foster a loving environment.
“A lot of people have to come to a realization that they have to be a father figure or a mother figure or something for these children, because these children live here. That is their house,” he said. “We have to keep it home-like as much as possible. That’s why we try to offer a family-like atmosphere. I feel like the staff are like family, so we do that with the children, make sure they’re comfortable while they’re with us. We try to help them get to the next stage of their lives.”
Justus oversees the Transitional Living Program, which works with older young adults to support them as they work to live independently. These kids range from 17 to 21 years old. Justus teaches a variety of life skills, from how to do laundry to how to open a bank account. He makes a point to meet his kids where they’re at and support them through whatever they experience.
“I’ve had guys who came in who didn’t know how to do laundry, and then turn around two or three years later and they’re buying their first car, moving into their own apartment,” he explained. “We’ve got kids who come from different countries, transitioning to live independently in this country. It’s a vast range of guys that we get. We just meet them where they’re at and try to get them where they want to go.”
Michael noted that community members can support the work of the Catholic Children’s Home at their upcoming open house on Sept. 27 or by attending the Friendsgiving Ball on Nov. 22, 2025. For more information about either event or to purchase your tickets to the ball, you can call 618-465-3594 ext. 235.
He said they are also always looking for volunteers and new members of their advisory board.
“They’ve experienced a lot of trauma, a lot of our kids, so we really do take things from a very trauma-informed approach,” Michael added. “A lot of kids, a lot of people, they kind of get stuck where that trauma occurred. The wonderful thing that I’ve experienced at the Children’s Home is I’m able to give them that hurdle help.”
To learn more about Alton’s Catholic Children’s Home, visit their official website at CatholicChildrensHome.com.
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