[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1389-E1390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEVEREUX

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2012

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Devereux on 
its upcoming 100-year anniversary.

[[Page E1390]]

   An outstanding non-profit behavioral health organization, Devereux's 
year-long centennial celebration will culminate in a 100th Anniversary 
Gala Celebration on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on 
November 10, 2012. The organization was founded by Helena Trafford 
Devereux, a schoolteacher in the great city of Philadelphia in the dawn 
of the Twentieth Century. At that time, children with special needs 
were held back, ostracized by their peers, written off as hopeless or 
sent to mental institutions.
   Miss Devereux had other ideas for these children. She passionately 
believed that each individual has his or her own innate abilities, 
distinctive potential and unique needs that, through individualized 
care grounded in positive supports, could be a contributing and valued 
member of their community.
   With innovative teaching methods, individualized instruction and 
materials designed by Miss Devereux, her students began to thrive. 
School administration took notice of her success and began to 
officially refer students with special needs to her room. In 1912, Miss 
Devereux was offered by the Philadelphia Board of Education the 
position of the district's first Director of Special Education.
   She turned down the offer, believing in the importance of educating 
the whole child through a then non-traditional curriculum that included 
life-skills, recreation and vocational activities. Instead she struck 
out on her own to establish a private school in her own home. With all 
of her savings and borrowed funds, which totaled $100, she rented a 
home in Devon to house her growing school, which then numbered 12 
students. Through perseverance and persuasion, she stewarded the growth 
of Devereux for decades, creating one of the Nation's largest and most 
well-respected nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare.
   This year, 6,000 staff has provided services to tens of thousands of 
children, adolescents and adults in eleven states, all abiding by Miss 
Devereux's legacy of the ``Philosophy of Care'': individualized 
services, positive approaches and effective and accountable service 
delivery. In addition, Devereux's work in building the social and 
emotional health of schoolchildren through public education and 
prevention programs has impacted millions of children and their 
families in every state in the union.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in 
congratulating Devereux on 100 years of service to countless children, 
adolescents and adults and their families, the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, and our Nation.

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