A Rich History of Community Support
Since its founding in 1993, St. Mary’s Center has strategically adapted to meet community needs and now supports
over 500 of Boston’s most vulnerable women, children, and families annually, working to address root causes of family homelessness. With our main campus on the site of the old St. Margaret’s Hospital in Dorchester, St. Mary’s Center builds on a rich history of supporting young mothers and their children in Dorchester that dates back to the 1870s.
A Journey Through Time
1860s-70s
An infant is left on the steps of St. James’ Church in Boston’s South End and is taken to the Daughters of Charity at Carney Hospital.
St. Ann's Ward Established at Carney Hospital to care for 1,500+ infants and 300+ single mothers. Just 6 years later, St. Mary’s Infant Asylum and Lying-In Hospital is established on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester
1882
With generosity from the Dorchester community, St. Mary’s purchases the Green Estate on Jones Hill and moves operations to St. Mary’s Center’s current location near Uphams Corner, Dorchester.
By 1902, St. Mary's was providing shelter and care to 1,000+ infants and single mothers who were abandoned with nowhere to turn.
1911
St. Mary’s expands into a general hospital, incorporating itself as St. Margaret’s Hospital. Many prominent Bostonians are born at St. Margaret’s Hospital, including Senator Ted Kennedy, Mark Wahlberg, and Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
The hospital continues to expand - hundreds of orphaned children are moved to boarding homes, infants stay on-site at St. Margaret’s.
1993
All operations at St. Margaret's Hospital are moved to St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Brighton.
St. Mary's Center is established with support from the Archdiocese of Boston and the Corcoran Family.
1995
Families are the largest growing sub-segment of the homeless population; St. Mary’s Center responds by establishing Margaret’s House inside the Center to provide safety and stability to families in crisis.
2002
Focusing on women experiencing homelessness and barriers to education and income, the Center introduces education and workforce development programs designed to empower participants to take important steps towards sustainable self-sufficiency.
2010
As the homelessness crisis grows, Crossroads Family Center in East Boston becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of St. Mary’s Center to provide shelter, meals, and social services to more than 40 homeless families and individuals in the East Boston community.
2016
2019-
present
St. Mary’s Center continues to expand in response to community needs. We created 12 additional units of supportive housing for homeless families at "First Home" on our Jones Hill, Dorchester campus.
St. Mary’s Center begins providing on-site services to previously homeless families living in affordable housing units developed on the site of the former St. Kevin’s Parish in Upham's Corner-- now called Upham's Crossing.
With the goal of providing an additional 50 families with housing, maternal-child health services, financial literacy, and employment training, St. Mary’s Center acquires property at 8 Notre Dame St., Roxbury with plans to open in the near future.