SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – The phrase “heaven-sent” is used to describe a specific type of person.
Those who like God offer perfect love and envelop with that love those who need it.
And that’s how Sister Gretchen Clark, co-founder of Chiara Home, a nonprofit organization that serves as a respite facility for people with special needs, was described by her loved ones at her retirement party Monday night.
This was my way of giving back to the Michiana community before it grew into something bigger.
“We got a call from a grandmother who said, ‘I heard you help families with people with special needs,'” Clark said. “We said we’d love to help you, and so it happened, word got out, and more and more people started asking us to take care of someone.”
This care has continued to grow over the years and has helped families like Emilie Grondin and her brother Chris Small from the very beginning.
“Since 1996, Chris has been coming here for the summer,” Grondin said. “I looked for short-term care for him in various places, but they all turned me down because he has epileptic seizures. Then a friend of ours heard that Chiara was at Sister Gretchen’s home, and they welcomed him with open arms.”
Their work becomes even more important when you consider the lack of special care in our area.
“The really interesting thing is that there aren’t many short-term care facilities in Indiana or southwest Michigan,” said Matt Harrington, president of Logan. “So the reach was pretty big, people would travel pretty long distances to have their loved ones at Chiara’s home. She had an incredible impact, not only on families in Michiana, but families outside of that area.”
And now that Sister Gretchen is retiring, Chiara’s home is operated by the Logan Center, which was very important to her because she knew that help would continue to be available to her.
“They need help,” Clark said. “We try to get them to reach their full potential, but they need help and they ask for it. That taught me to ask others for help because they are there to help me.”
Chiara Home has been working with Logan for two years and Sister Gretchen is excited to support the center and care for new and returning guests.
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