Chara House
A Program of St. Vincent’s Center
is closing after 18 years

After 18 years of excellence in providing quality care to Baltimore’s most vulnerable, medically fragile infants and toddlers and their families, St. Vincent’s Center’s Chara House will be closing as of Wednesday, August 6, 2008.   This closure is in response to the lack of referrals to Chara House due to a change in placement strategy by the Baltimore City Department of Social Services and the State of Maryland.

Over the years, Chara House has provided the highest quality of therapeutic care and has achieved unparalleled success in attaining permanency for the children through placement with birth families, kinship care and pre-adoptive/adoptive homes.   In fact, during its eighteen year history, nearly all children discharged from Chara House have gone on to permanent families.

Chara House was more than a just a house.  Chara, Greek for joy, was a home that provided hope and healing for the children and their families as evidenced in this touching letter recently received from the father of a child placed at Chara.

 “This is for the women of Chara House.  I have to express my feelings of gratitude . . . .  Now there are children in this world who have had troubled times since the first day of their birth.  But not to worry, God has put a special group of women on this earth to care for them and give each one of them what they need.  And in the end, they will be blessed for this wonderful deed.  Now my son is at Chara House, but I don't need to worry because I know he is safe without a doubt.  Now each and every woman there I hold dear to my heart because you love and care for [him] in these times we are apart.  Yes, I do consider each and every one of you a friend, and I know you have earned your place in heaven in the very end!!!  Thank you, Chara House.”

On behalf of St. Vincent’s Center, we would like to thank all of our dedicated Chara House staff, volunteers and donors who have helped to make Chara House a true “House of Joy.”

The tradition of service to children continues…

Since 1856, St. Vincent’s Center has been serving Maryland’s most vulnerable children and their families.   Today, Catholic Charities’ Child and Family Services’ Professionals partner with families, advocates, agencies and the local government to operate a wide array of innovative services and programs. Our programs vary in intensity and are tailored to meet the needs of the children and families we serve.  Among our programs for children and families are the Center for Family Services, Head Start, St. Vincent’s Center and Villa Maria Continuum.  This continuum of care and services includes abuse prevention programs, community based treatment services, special education programs, therapeutic foster care, pregnancy counseling, adoption services, and residential treatment. Our values of respect, partnership, compassion, diversity and excellence and how we apply them to the work we do each day are what distinguish us from other organizations. They have allowed us to become a leader in the field of child welfare, mental health and special education. 

If you would like more information about St. Vincent’s Center or any of the programs in the Child and Family Services division, please contact Ellen Torres at etorres@cc-md.org