1924-Present
Judson Center
Royal Oaks Michigan MI
In the 1920’s Detroit Baptists were made aware of the needs of children and decided to do something to help. Dr. Henry C. Gleiss of the Detroit Baptist Union brought churches together and in 1924 founded the Detroit Baptist Children’s Home in Royal Oaks. This new ministry created a home-like environment for children who were abandoned or had been placed into care when their parents could not provide for them. The original goal was always to reunite children with their parents.
In the early 1930s a new home was built to accommodate 30 children. The home provided each child with an individual bed, wholesome food, and a well-equipped playground all of which contributed to the physical, intellectual and social growth of each child. Gifts from the Baptist community provided ongoing financial support.[1] In the 1940s members of the Frist Baptist Church of Birmingham became stocking the food pantry every fall. This group became known as the Apple Sauce Gang. They picked apples from local farms what had gone unattended due to WWII and turned the apples into apple sauce a favorite on the menu at the Baptist Children’s Home dining hall.
During the 50s and 60s, research revealed that children were better served through foster homes than through orphanages. The Detroit Baptist Children’s home morphed into the foster home ministry using the orphanage buildings only when needed to temporarily house unplaced children.
The 1970s marked the closing of state institutions for the developmentally disabled which allowed Detroit Baptist Children’s Home to step up and offer care for this population. Unique care programs and intensive residential treatment options became the base of ministry for the Detroit Baptist Children’s Home. It was decided in 1984 to change the name of the operation to something that would be more inclusive of the total ministry throughout wider Michigan. The name Judson was selected to honor the Baptist missionary to Burma who had a special interest in the educational needs of children.
Today Judson Center is a non-profit human service agency that provides compassionate, comprehensive services to children and families throughout southeast Michigan. The ministry has grown to provide services to over 12,000 children, adults, and families each year. Judson Center continues to change fates and restore childhoods for children who have been abused and neglected, and others who are challenged by developmental disabilities, severe emotional impairments and autism spectrum disorder.[2]
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[1] George H. Waid, Centennial History Michigan Baptist Convention (Lansing, MI: Hallenbeck Printing Company, 1936), p. 178
[2] Judson Center. https://www.judsoncenter.org/about-us/