April Decker

Lambs Farm

Founded in 1961 by Bob Terese and Corinne Owen, Lambs Farm was created based on a simple belief: All people should be treated with dignity and respect and people with developmental disabilities can lead meaningful and productive lives. They opened The Lambs, a pet shop on State Street in downtown Chicago, to create work opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, and to demonstrate that they can do a great deal more than most people thought possible at the time. In 1965. W. Clement Stone donated what is now the 72-acre farm with a century old barn that we call home. We now serve 250 participants. Most of them live at Lambs Farm in one of our nine group homes, in our 16-unit apartment building or in our retirement residence. Some participants live in the surrounding community in single family homes owned and operated by Lambs Farm. Other participants live at home with their families but commute to Lambs Farm daily to work and take part in our many programs. Many of our people are employed in the community while many more choose to work at Lambs Farm in a wide array of jobs available to them through our businesses, work center, administration, groundskeeping and more.