Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington

We provide shelter, legal aid, immigrant assistance, physical and mental healthcare, developmental disability services, education, employment training and crisis counseling to individuals and families, regardless of race, nationality and religion.

How do you help people in my community?

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington takes a grass roots approach to delivering social services. We emphasize client and community strengths and resources, encouraging those we serve to develop relationships in the community.

Our family centers offer a range of services under one roof, including assessment and crisis intervention, counseling, family support and employment service. Each location provides the opportunities that are necessary to assist people on their journey from crisis and despair to self-reliance and full community participation, and each program location seeks to serve the specific needs of clients in a particular geographic region. For example, DC Homeless Services, located in the heart of downtown DC and with facilities dispersed throughout the city, addresses the needs of the District’s vulnerable and growing homeless population, offering programs that not only give a bed and a warm meal, but also a promise for a brighter future. We help those we serve develop all of the skills and abilities necessary to enable them to move from crisis and isolation to stability and growth.

We are working to establish a sense of hope and security to those who are in need in your community. Through the work of the programs at each of our 28 community sites, we are providing emergency assistance, individual and family counseling, immigration legal services, employment services, emergency and transitional housing for those who are homeless, health care and legal assistance to the uninsured and under-represented denizens of your community, low cost food distribution, parenting work shops for families as well as community organizations.

Why do you need my support?

Catholic Charities needs your support in serving more than 80,000 individuals and families each year.  Our 54 programs in 28 sites throughout the community operate effectively only with the involvement and contributions of the community.

A monetary gift of any size or value is significantly appreciated: $20 will help cover the costs of transportation for residents in a shelter to attend computer classes; $50 will help purchase clothing for a job interview for a man or woman living in a shelter; $100 will support computers and other after-school activities for kids in our Windows After-school program; $500 will cover pre-adoption screening costs for a family.

85% of money contributed to Catholic Charities goes directly to programs and services.

In-kind donations are also appreciated.  To donate, please call our donations hotline at 202-772-4357.

We need your support to continue to make a difference in the future.  It is our vision and mission to do so. For over 75 years, it has been our goal to care for the impoverished; to shelter the homeless; and to protect the oppressed.  Most importantly, we work to give hope to those in need and give them the abilities, resources and self-esteem necessary to become self-sufficient and active in their communities.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

Our accreditation with the Council on Accreditation, which is the national accrediting body for social service agencies, is a testament to the high ethical, fiduciary, and service-delivery standards that have been the hallmark of Catholic Charities for three quarters of a century.

85% of contributions to Catholic Charities goes directly to programs and services.

We have recently been recognized by Smart Money Magazine, ranking Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington among the nation’s most efficient human services charities. The publication also noted that Catholic Charities agencies across the United States spent far more than the magazine’s recommended minimum of 75% of income on programs and services.

Can I Volunteer? How?

You may volunteer your services and time in many ways! For example, you may help by volunteering maintenance or gardening work at any of our emergency/transitional housing shelters; teaching a parenting class or teaching citizenship classes for Immigration Legal Services; acting as a tutor for youth at any one of our Family Centers or after school programs; or working as a stocker or food packer at our food pantries.