CareLink Celebrates Historic Torrey House

Political figures and administrators from the Delaware County Department of Human Services joined CareLink staff, participants, and Board members at a celebration of Torrey House on September 17. The event featured recognition of the Torrey House legacy and remarks from CareLink President & CEO Gary Woomer and Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti (D-17, Delaware/Montgomery County, PA).

From left: CareLink Regional Director Ted Colomeda, Haverford Township Commissioner Judy Trombetta, PA Senator Amanda Cappelletti, CareLink President/CEO Gary Woomer, CareLink Assistant Regional Director and Torrey House Program Supervisor Chris Swallow, and CareLink COO Rich Hoback

“Torrey House is a living symbol of hope and compassionate care,” said Gary Woomer. “We are proud to honor its legacy and continue providing a stable home where residents with severe mental illness can live with dignity and thrive.”

“The services CareLink provides are critical to ensuring our neighbors across Delaware County have access to safe, stable, and supportive housing,” said Senator Cappelletti. “I am always proud to support CareLink’s vital work, and I am happy to celebrate CareLink and Torrey House today as they continue to invest back into our community.”

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Torrey House, a surviving mansion from the former Haverford State Hospital grounds and now part of the Haverford Reserve development, served as the hospital’s first operational building when it opened as an outpatient clinic in 1958. In 1986, grassroots fundraising by local families helped convert the mansion into a 24-hour supervised residence, which CareLink Community Support Services (then known as Tricounty Fountain Center) began managing. The home was named in honor of psychiatrist Dr. E. Fuller Torrey for his pioneering work on schizophrenia and severe mental illness.

Today, Torrey House operates as a 14-bed personal care home for adults with severe and persistent mental illness. In a stable residential setting with no fixed discharge timeline, residents receive daily living assistance, medication management, life skills training, and psychosocial rehabilitation.

In late 2023, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation transferring ownership of the Torrey House property to CareLink Community Support Services of PA, Inc., helping secure the mansion’s future and its ongoing role in community-based care.