Holy Angels Residential Facility is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing residential services, job training and meaningful work opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organisation traces its origins to 1947, when Mother General Zita Verni and thirteen Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows arrived from Romagna, Italy; 64 acres of land were donated in 1963 by the Pollard, Gilster and O'Brien families to the Catholic Diocese, and the first group of 35 children arrived in 1965. It has operated as an independent 501(c)(3) since 2006.
The residential operation is a licensed training facility running 13 group homes and three dorms, arranged so that clients live in independent settings integrated throughout the community. In total, the organisation serves approximately 185 individuals, from children to older adults, drawn from more than 15 states and concentrated in Louisiana and Texas. Its base is in Clarks, Louisiana.
Alongside residential care, the organisation runs day program services, habilitation, special education and vocational programming. Named programmes include the AngelWorks Day Program, Holy Angels Academy, job training and meaningful work schemes, and two social enterprises: the Holy Angels Gift Shops and Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, both of which provide employment and work-training opportunities for the individuals served.
The culture is rooted in a Catholic heritage sustained since 1947, with an emphasis on dignity, purpose and independence for those it serves, and on community integration rather than institutional separation. Direct-care, residential and programme roles involve work across group homes, dorms, day programmes, education settings and retail operations.
