The Catholic Social Services (CSS) office (Diocese of Lansing) provided adoption services and was funded by Monsignor Slowey.

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, CSS also provided services to refugees who were displaced persons from World War II.

St. Vincent Home for Children (SVH) began with the support and encouragement of Saint Vincent DePaul Society in 1952. SVH was a residential facility for children from homes that needed temporary assistance with caring for their children. From approximately 1959 to 1965, Cuban parents sent their children to live at SVH to keep them safe. Children stayed at the Home until their families arrived from Cuba.

CSS and SVH continued for many years as two separate agencies, one a child-caring agency, the other a child-placing, refugee services, and family counseling agency.  Over the years, the two agencies developed their own identity and essentially went their own way. Eventually, each of the agencies hired their own director but continued to be under the sponsorship of the Catholic Church.

As community needs grew, the two organizations expanded their services. CSS developed a mental health clinic and was able to collect payment from insurance companies. Agreements were developed with the State of Michigan about the mental health services CSS provided, allowing for program expansion. These successful services also resulted in the formation of the Foster Care Program and Senior Programs.

Refugee Services were not provided by either agency from 1965 – 1975.

From 1975 to 1979, the Catholic Charities arm of the Diocese of Lansing served refugees, providing resettlement services and English as a second language classes (ESL).

In 1979, Catholic Charities permanently transferred the Refugee Program to CSS. More comprehensive services such as health and employment were added to the resettlement services and ESL classes.

SVH began to contract with the State of Michigan to accept emotionally impaired children. The Home provided a residence for the children but did not have the expertise to offer treatment. The State of Michigan encouraged a continuum of service and the development of a treatment program at SVH.  With the support of the Diocesan Office of Community Service and the Board of Directors, a merger between CSS and SVH was explored. It appeared that combining the Foster Care and Adoption Programs of CSS and the Residential Programs of SVH would be a natural fit for future programming. The professional expertise in counseling services provided by CSS would be the base of the treatment program.

In April of 1985, CSS and SVH became one agency (Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home, Inc.). Since then, the agency has provided a wide range of programs focusing on the needs of children and families, both in their own home and those in need of placement and treatment outside their home.

In 1994, Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home, Inc. was instrumental in developing the transitional housing program Ballentine Stepping Stones, providing temporary housing and supportive services to homeless single women with children. This program continued until 2010 when it transitioned to a permanent supportive housing program for special populations such as homeless individuals and families, chronic homeless individuals, victims of domestic violence, and persons with special needs.

In July 2005, the name was changed from Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home, Inc. to St. Vincent Catholic Charities. This change coincided with the final move of all the programs onto one campus. A new facility was built for the Children’s Home, and the old home was renovated to accommodate the other programs.

It is the position of the Board of Directors that St. Vincent Catholic Charities review and assess services annually to attempt to identify mission appropriateness, duplication of services, community need, the level and quality of services able to be provided with the funding available, as well as the overall impact on the agency’s bottom line. As a result, the agency has discontinued and added various services over time. In 2007 the agency’s “family” of services to the senior population was transitioned to other partners in the community. The organization is presently working to develop coalitions with other agencies both on the local and statewide level in order to more effectively and efficiently respond to other community needs. We are proud that the social mission of the Church is truly being carried out by our organization and in conjunction with other community agencies.

In August 2021, Kabul fell while the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan. In response, the “U.S. Implemented Operation Allies Welcome,” and 122,000 Afghans were airlifted out of Kabul to safety. However, as part of this historic airlift many immediate families were separated in the chaos of trying to get into the Kabul Airport and onto planes. Wives were separated from husbands, and children were separated from parents.  STVCC welcomed 300 Afghan Humanitarian Parolees between September 2021 and February 2022. Refugee Services and our Immigration Law Clinic (ILC) identified and completed families’ reunification applications and brought families back together.

With the belief that strength comes from unity, St. Vincent Catholic Charities merged with Cristo Rey Community Center to expand access to the vital services on both campuses. This merger allowed for the expansion of the Cristo Rey Family Health Center onto the St. Vincent Campus to help address the need for quality, affordable health care in our community. The St. Vincent Campus also welcomed the new Cristo Rey Dental Center in collaboration with University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and the Delta Dental Foundation. This facility focuses on providing dental care to underserved populations: low-income children, veterans, and people with disbilities.