Jim Douglas, the administer of Casa Angelica, told us the origin story of the facility. He says,” Back in the mid-60s, a family in the South Valley gave birth to a child with pervasive needs and the family was looking for some help in raising the child. They approached the Canossian Sisters here on the Isleta Convent and they asked if they would help care for their child. The sisters said yes and that began the process of creating Casa Angelica. Casa Angelica was built for the purpose of serving children with pervasive needs, and since that time it's evolved into a premier site for care for children with severe and profound disabilities that are also medically fragile.”
The Canossian Sisters Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor was founded by St. Magdalene of Canossa, Italy in the early 1800s, and is now an international missionary congregation of women dedicated to providing care for the suffering worldwide. Here in Albuquerque, Casa Angelica was created in 1967 as a home for children and young adults with developmental disabilities, most requiring 24-hour care. Jim told us, “There’s no other facility like this in the State of New Mexico. They require round-the-clock care for absolutely every activity of daily life. We have 24-hour nursing, and our staff are highly specialized in the intense care that these children require.”
Jim said, “Medicaid takes care of the basic needs of our residents...medication, housing, and food, but we have an auxiliary that raises funds for extras because we want to give them a life that is as fulfilling as possible. This year the auxiliary raised money to purchase what's called a We-Go-Swing and this is a huge apparatus that you can put wheelchairs on and the whole platform swings so it's safe and it's secure but yet the children get that opportunity that we all have had as kids to be on a swing set and to have that stimulation. We’re currently raising money for colorful shade structures so the children can sit outside and be sheltered from the hot sun.” The auxiliary stages fashion shows, luncheons, and craft fairs throughout the year for fund raising.
Catholic Charities also contributes some funding, but as Jim says, “We don’t just serve people of the Catholic faith. We have a director of pastoral ministry that supports all faiths. Spiritual education is a part of the personal growth that we foster.”
Casa Angelica has six children that attend the Albuquerque public school system, and four days out of the week a teacher comes in to work with the children that are too fragile to leave the facility.
Casa Angelica is located at 5629 Isleta Blvd SW, and their phone number is 505.077.5763. Fund raising events are listed on their Facebook page.
There’s no other facility like this in the State of New Mexico. They require round-the-clock care for absolutely every activity of daily life.