A memorial is planned to honor child residents of the former St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont.
The orphanage was operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington from 1854 until 1974. In 2018 BuzzFeed published an article documenting traumatic abuse that occurred there.
Former residents and other officials subsequently participated in a restorative justice inquiry to detail the abuses and ensure policies were enacted to prevent child mistreatment. The last action of the inquiry is creation of the memorial. Its design includes glacial boulders etched with the words of former residents.
A matching gift has been announced to kick off fundraising for the $160,000 project.
