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Administrative offices are located at 8037 Unruh Drive, Georgetown, Indiana.

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Entrance to the Guerin Woods Campus.

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Saint Mother Theodore Guerin foundress and namesake.



Photo contribution by Crystal Cahill Moss


Mission Statement

It is our mission to give assistance by way of residential facilities and life skills services to persons of all ages who are in need. This mission includes a goal of providing decent, affordable housing to moderate-and-low income people.

Honors

Guerin Inc. is a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and has recieved prestigious awards, including

  • "Program of the Year Award" from the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development;
  • and the "Governor's Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing for "Special Needs Housing"

History

Guerin Inc. was established in 1999 to construct facilities for a Providence House for Children's campus at Georgetown, Indiana. An arm of Providence Self Sufficiency Ministries Inc. (PSSM). Providence House includes two treatment-focused family reunification programs:

  • Patchwork House for six mothers and their children
  • Reunification Apartments consisting of six units
  • Both programs serve families reuniting with their children through the Department of Child Services.
  • Most families referred to Providence House have unresolved issues such as homelessness, mental illness, risk of child abuse or neglect, substance abuse, incarceration, or domestic violence.

In April 2005, Guerin Inc. opened Guerin Woods— a development for Elder citizens that adjoins the Providence House campus. Today, Guerin Woods includes these facilities:

  • 22 two-bedroom apartments for individuals and couples age 62 and older;
  • an Elder center open to residents in Floyd and surrounding counties;
  • The The Villas of Guerin Woods—a 10-unit “small house” dwelling that offers assisted living and skilled nursing care for frail Elders age 62 and older.

In 2009, Guerin Inc. built The Meadows of Guerin, Inc. adjacent to Guerin Woods. The Meadows is a HUD 202 grant-funded development serving people age 62 and older and consisting of:

  • 24 one-bedroom apartments,
  • a one two-bedroom apartment,
  • and community center.

PSSM is an incorporated ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. Established in August 1994, in a forer convent in New Albany, Ind. PSSM provides educational and family services to people in need. While ministering for PSSM, two Sisters of Providence nuns earned their license to become foster parents. This inspired them to found Providence House as the first group home for foster children in the local area.

In 1998, PSSM approached the Archdiocese of Indinapolis about the possibility of purchasing 12-pls acres of land at Georgetown, Ind as the location for a campus for Providence House for Children. The Archdiocese recognized the need for expanded facilities for foster care and offered the land for a $1 fee. Because Sisters of Providence do not own land away from the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods' motherhouse. Guerin Inc. was formed to serve as the corporation umbrella responsible for the land and development.

Developments are funded by grants and donations. Through a management agreement, Guerin, Inc., provides facilities and PSSM oversees administration, staffing and programming.

Heritage

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin journeyed from France to the wilderness of Indiana in 1840 and established the Sisters of Providence congregation at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Mother Theodore was named a “Saint” during a canonization ceremony October 15, 2006, at the Vatican. The Family Reunification and Preservation Program duplex on the Providence House campus is known as Guerin House in recognition of Saint Mother Theodore and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

People of all races and religions are welcome to participate in programs at Providence House for Children and Guerin Woods.