Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide quality of life opportunities in community settings for people who need long term support through well trained, competent and caring teams in partnership with government and other public and private agencies.

History

Donald F. (Sr.) and Bette Knapp's daughter, Lori, entered a state institution at an early age. They strongly felt that she, as well as other people with disabilities, would benefit from individualized services in her hometown, free from the confines of an institutional or nursing home environment. Their dream for Lori led to the formation of what is now the Lori Knapp Companies, the fruit of Don & Bette's love for their daughter.

In November of 1972, the Cass Street Group Home was established. This was the first group home organized in the State of Wisconsin. Lori and seven other children left the institution to begin a new life in Prairie du Chien. Since that date Lori and the others have thrived.

The smaller settings, rather than larger settings, allowed the personal attention to consumers that led to greater personal growth opportunities; and resulted in the Lori Knapp Companies expanding their Crawford County services to other counties in the State of Wisconsin.

In 1995, the Lori Knapp Companies began growth into other areas of Wisconsin by providing a variety of services to Richland County. The Lori Knapp Companies, now either operates in OR serves 300 consumers from over 20 different Wisconsin counties.

Corporate Values

Our most important value is that we are a business run "from the heart." The people we serve are the major beneficiaries of this value. We are proud of our efforts to not just make a house for people to live in, but a home for them to thrive in. Our approach has allowed us to keep our programs and our staff focused on our consumers.

• We are community-based in our behavior and thoughts.

• We are team-based to support one another as we move forward.

• We are communication-based so we can develop enduring teams.

• We are choice-based to ensure individual direction and quality of life.

• We treat the people we serve as people, not a commodity or a burden.

• We believe in encouraging consumers to think, as opposed to thinking always for them.

• We believe and act on a simple work concept, "Just do it!"

• We started as a group of people who acted with our hearts. We will always be this way.

• We believe that difficulty is inevitable, but that working together solves problems and is part of life.

• We believe that with cooperation and flexibility, we arrive at solutions.

If people were to remember only one thing about us,
it would be that we've proven through our actions
that we really care and can make a difference.