ELM Homes is not named after a tree. E, L and M are the initials for Eugene (Gene) L. Miller. Gene, along with his wife Bonnie, opened their first facility for the care of the developmentally disabled in 1979 in Waseca, MN.

Presently, ELM Homes has 53 facilities located in ten counties in southern Minnesota, providing homes and services for approximately 250 consumers. The ten counties ELM Homes are located in include: Nicollet, Le Sueur, Rice, Blue Earth, Waseca, Steele, Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, and Scott.

Gene and Bonnie were not new to the caregiving business when they opened the first home known as Larry James Home. They became foster parents in 1968 and opened Parkview Preschool in 1972 in one half of a duplex near Trowbridge Park in downtown Waseca. When they moved Parkview Preschool to a new building, the duplex was converted to Larry James Home (LJH), an Intermediate Care Facility for people with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR). Along with the preschool and the openings of group homes, Bonnie and Gene continued to be foster parents.

With the success of LJH, Gene and Bonnie decided to open another ICF/MR facility in 1982, which they named ELM Residence. Coincidentally, it is located on Elm Avenue in Waseca, which is named after the beautiful Elm trees which line this main road (Hwy 14) going through Waseca.

Growth continued and two more ICF/MR facilites were opened in 1984. Another in Waseca, named ELM North and one in Waterville name Le Sueur Residence.

In July of 1984, funding for Supervised Living Services (SLS) was first approved for Minnesota, thus enabling all persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to live and work in the same settings and enviroments as non-disabled persons. Recognizing a growing need, ELM Homes opened their first two SLS facilities in 1988.

They continued to expand in many ways. New homes were built, existing group homes were bought, more facilities were started in surrounding areas, and services were added. This expansion continues today, as there is still a need for housing, and for programs for developentally disabled.