St. Mary’s Women and Children’s Center provides the largest population of homeless and low-income women and children in the City of Boston with the resources and skills necessary to build stable, healthy lives in the community. Located in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods of Boston, St. Mary’s serves young families grappling with the most persistent social problems of our time, including family homelessness, child abuse and neglect, teenage pregnancy and parenting, partner and community violence, mental illness, addiction, and poverty.
St. Mary’s recognizes that a family’s future can change dramatically over the time of their stay at St. Mary’s. The organization has worked diligently to create a full continuum of programming – from shelter, to education and training, to indispensable life supports – so that a stay at St. Mary’s will propel families away from the vicious cycle of poverty and toward self-sufficiency.
St. Mary’s offers a comprehensive continuum of life-changing services through six programs:
Three residential shelters:
- St. Mary’s Home
for pregnant and parenting teens
- Margaret’s House
for homeless families
- Bridge Home
for children who are victims of abuse and neglect
And three education and training programs:
- Women's Learning Center
adult basic education program
- Women @ Work
job-training program
- GRLZ Radio afterschool and summer youth development program
Our rich history dates back to 1874 when an abandoned infant left on the doorstop of a nearby parish church led the Sisters of the Daughters of Charity to establish an orphanage, called St. Mary’s Infant Asylum, to provide shelter, comfort, and care for other abandoned babies. By 1902, St. Mary's was home to about 1,000 infants and unwed mothers who at that time were likely to be cast out of their homes with nowhere to turn. For a century St. Margaret’s Hospital for Women shared the Dorchester campus with St. Mary’s until 1993 when the hospital closed and the current-day St. Mary’s was established, continuing a rich legacy of quality and nurturing care.
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From Sanctuary to Self-Esteem To learn more about St. Mary's life-changing work, watch our video. Made possible through the generosity of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts |
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One Special Night.
Hundreds of Transformed Lives.
Nearly 500 guests gathered at the Seaport Hotel on April 3rd for the 5th annual Diamonds of Dorchester gala fundraiser celebrating St. Mary’s transformational work with families. The elegant evening included a cocktail reception featuring the ever-popular Toast to Dorchester champagne raffle, dinner, and program hosted by Mistress of Ceremonies Liz Walker of WBZ-TV.
A very special part of Diamonds of Dorchester is the John M. Corcoran Award for Excellence, presented this year to co-recipients Mr. A. Raymond Tye and Rev. Bill McCarthy. John Corcoran was a guiding force in the creation of St. Mary’s and its first ten years. He set a standard of compassion, excellence, and dedication, and every year, Diamonds of Dorchester provides a forum to recognize individuals like him and inspire others to model John’s legacy of helping those less fortunate.
Thank you to Diamonds of Dorchester’s sponsors and co-chairs John Keith & Shelley Hoon and Arthur & Alicia Winn for making this year’s gala a memorable and successful evening. More than $500,000 was raised to support St. Mary’s life-changing work with Boston’s most vulnerable women and children.
St. Mary's Women and Children's Center seeks qualified and motivated individuals to work with pregnant and parenting teens, female head of household families with histories of trauma and at-risk children.
Current Openings
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Angela Davis. No phone calls please.
We are an equal opportunity employer.
- Ann-Ellen Hornidge, Esq., Chair
- Judy Beckler, President
- Melvin Benson
- Denis Conroy
- John M. Corcoran, Jr.
- Edward H. D'Alelio
- Astrid Hajjar
- Katherine Hesse, Esq.
- Shelley Hoon
- Nicole Hynes
- Mary Lou Jackson
- Rev. Robert T. Kickham
- Bianca Latessa
- Hilary McCarthy
- Peter Meade, Trustee Emeritus
- Rosanne Bacon Meade
- Rev. Oscar Pratt
- Claudina C. Quinn, Trustee Emeritus
- Brenda Rosario
- John Salvati
- W. Paul White
From Columbia Road and Dorchester Avenue:
- Proceed SW on Dorchester Avenue.
- At the third set of lights (Harp & Bard Lounge is on your right), turn right onto Savin Hill Avenue.
- Go straight through the next set of lights (across Pleasant Street) to Sawyer Avenue.
- Turn left onto Sawyer Avenue and then right onto Cushing Avenue.
- St. Mary’s Women and Children's Center is on the right at the top of the hill.
- Take a right onto Windermere Road just before St. Mary's to reach the parking garage (turn right onto Windermere Road, then an immediate left).
- Go under the building overpass and bear right up ramp to parking lot on top.
From the T:
- Take the Ashmont train to the Savin Hill T stop. From the turnstiles, take a left onto Savin Hill Avenue.
- Go straight on Savin Hill Avenue through the lights at Dorchester Avenue (Harp & Bard Lounge is on the right)and through the next set of lights at Pleasant Street.
- Continue up the hill; turn left on Sawyer Avenue, and then right onto Cushing Avenue. St. Mary’s Women and Children's Center is on the right at the top of the hill.