PHOTOS: A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
St. Coletta's of Illinois is a social services organization in Tinley Park that provides training, shelter and opportunities for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
The bakery classroom is part of the Transition Town training area at St. Coletta's.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Transition Town, part of St. Coletta's Kennedy School, prepares students age 14-22 for the future with life-skills training and work in the community.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Transition Town also includes a laundry classroom.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Paquito Yu, right, supervises as Matthew makes the week’s grocery shopping list.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
St. Coletta's was founded in a Palos Park farmhouse in 1949 before moving to Tinley Park. This is the Wayne A. Kottmeyer Center in Tinley Park.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Christian, left, and Jordan pack a box in a fulfillment training room at St. Coletta's.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Paquito Yu stands with a portrait of him and three young men from his group home from more than 25 years ago. Yu has worked with the same core individuals in a group home for more than 30 years.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Local employers help develop the Transition Town curriculum to ensure students are properly trained.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Kevin takes out the garbage in a St. Coletta's group home.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
This is the general store classroom in Transition Town.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Paquito Yu worked at a restaurant where a chance meeting with the CEO of St. Coletta's changed his life. “On the way home after the interview, I was very excited because I’m doing something different, and this time to serve humanity,” Yu says.
A visit to St. Coletta's of Illinois
Annette Skafgaard is executive director of St. Coletta's of Illinois.
St. Coletta's serves more than 300 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through life-skills training and group living.
It was a bear-y good day for the students at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy School at St. Coletta’s of Illinois when the Chicago Bears mascot showed up.
Frankfort author Joe Ziemba has hundreds of stories about the early days of professional football, and there are some fun and intriguing tales in his new book, “Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL’s Oldest Rivalry.”
Keshia Ellis has joined the Crisis Center for South Suburbia as director of Community Services.
More than 30 years ago, Lynn Hojnacki was one of 16 people who showed up at a Tinley Park-Park District meeting with the idea of forming a community band. Hojnacki and the band are still going strong.
