“The Lord sends us those fragile and abandoned brothers and sisters who, like the paralytic in the Bible, come crying out, ‘Lord, I have no one.'”

“Those words by Father Louis Guanella set the cornerstone of the St. Louis Center,” says Joe Yekulis as he and Father Enzo Addari stride across wide fields in Sylvan Township. On this spring morning, the public relations director and administrator of the fifty-five-year-old charity point to greening expanses where they hope to see group homes under construction one day soon. Off in the distance, children play on new swings near a new piazza filled with benches, picnic tables, basketball courts, and a jogging/bicycle path.

“We’re in the midst of a $10 million development campaign,” Yekulis says, adding proudly, “We’re already halfway there.”

“As the years have gone by, our mission and population have changed, and we need facilities and programs that reflect those changes,” Father Enzo says. They hope to grow St. Louis into a village that addresses the needs of an aging disabled population and includes their elderly caregivers as part of the community.

The St. Louis Center traces its roots to the vision of St. Guanella (1842–1915), an Italian priest who established the Servants of Charity order in 1908 to minister to the neglected, abandoned, and disabled. In 1960, the Servants of Charity began construction on the St. Louis School for Exceptional Boys, which opened with four priests who were from Italy (as is Father Enzo), four Holy Family nuns, one cook, five special education teachers, and sixty young boys.

Initially, boys could remain at the St. Louis Center until the age of sixteen, later till eighteen. But the center became home to increasing numbers of individuals with intellectual development disabilities (IDDs) who, when they turned eighteen, had nowhere to go. In response to their needs, in 1981, the center became licensed to house disabled men. Since 2001 it has also included women.

“Nowadays we serve boys who have been morally and physically abandoned, persons of all ages with developmental disabilities, and the elderly who have no one to care for them,” Yekulis says. The fifty residents range in age from five to sixty-five. Most come from Washtenaw and Wayne counties, although the center welcomes residents from farther afield. It is licensed to serve ninety-three residents.

The campaign’s first $2 million was spent on renovations for dormitories and the welcome and orientation center. Cafeterias became cozy dining halls. Living areas were brightened and redecorated. The playground and piazza were built. Half the Guanella Building has been renovated as assisted-living quarters. But this is just a start. The center has bigger intentions.

In the conference room, a large conceptual drawing illustrates dreams for the future: two quad group homes, a chapel, a street lined with bungalows for residents’ families, and a small shopping plaza. “We’ve already spoken with Zingerman’s and Panera about moving into this space,” Yekulis says. “We’re also working with the Department of Transportation” to provide public transit for the residents.

The St. Louis Center is supported by a community advisory board, the Knights of Columbus, Livonia’s Italian-American Club, and annual fundraisers. “Five years ago, on our fiftieth anniversary, we identified a major need: to care for aging people with disabilities, as well as their elderly caregivers, who wanted to remain close to their children,” Yekulis says.

Norm Newman, a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus, is heading the fundraising campaign. “Several years ago, we became aware of the population of people with IDDs who are outliving their parents and have nowhere to go,” he says. “The center began receiving calls from elderly caregivers concerned about their children’s future.”

Newman understood the parents’ concern. He and his wife have a grown child with Down syndrome. “Those of us on the advisory committee discussed the situation with Father Enzo,” he says. “We decided we needed to do something to meet that need. We’ve set 2017 as the target date to reach our ten-million-dollar mark. We started by spreading the word to local communities. Now we’re approaching foundations for help. So far, the response has been very heartening.”