The year was 1957 and America’s love affair with the suburbs was well underway. World War II had been over for more than a decade and Americans were flocking to newly minted neighborhoods of tree-lined streets and shopping malls. This migration was most striking from New York City to “America’s first suburb”—Long Island.  That year the new Diocese of Rockville Center was formed as a separate entity from the Diocese of Brooklyn to serve the faithful of Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Its first Bishop, Walter P. Kellenberg, recognized that the growing suburb would soon face the big-city problems of poverty, affordable housing, employment, mental health, and immigration right in its own communities.  Wasting no time, he launched Long Island’s Catholic Charities in May of 1957 with 11 people staffing two offices, a central office in Mineola and a branch in Bay Shore that provided mental health and other services.  From those humble beginnings, we served a total of 1,224 people that first year.  

Five years later, the agency operated out of five offices and the number of families being served had increased fourfold.  Over time, we added sites and employees to provide services for people struggling with alcoholism, residences for people with developmental disabilities, and Regina Residence, the first-ever shelter for single mothers on Long Island. In the mid-1970s, Catholic Charities also developed an innovative program known as Parish Social Ministry (PSM), a unique collaboration with local parishes that brought services and justice to people right in their own neighborhoods.  The first three PSM programs were opened in 1976. 

The 70’s was also when Long Island’s skyrocketing cost of living became its most pressing problem. Ever-increasing taxes and the lack of affordable housing were especially challenging for seniors on fixed incomes who were being forced to leave the communities they helped build.  So, in 1978 our housing department responded with its first affordable senior housing complex in Selden with 200 units. Since that time we have grown to 1,329 units, making Catholic Charities the largest provider of affordable senior housing on Long Island. 

Our historical ability to quickly address changing needs with an island-wide effort has become the Catholic Charities calling card, especially in times of crisis. That’s why we were called upon to bring compassion and distribute aid to the Long Island families impacted by the tragic destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11th.  It’s also why we became one of the largest providers of relief after Superstorm Sandy ravaged Long Island’s shores.

Whether it be different waves of immigration, the explosion of teen pregnancies, rampant substance abuse, refugees and human trafficking, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, terrorist attacks, or even natural disasters, people, as well as local governments, turn to Catholic Charities of Long Island to lead the way.  Today, we’re one of the largest human service networks on Long Island with 53 sites from Elmont to the East End. Nearly 500 employees and 300 volunteers serve an average of 53,000 people each year of every faith and background and at every stage of life. And working with local Parish Social Ministry offices at more than 100 parishes, we help tens of thousands more rebuild their lives every day. So, while people and problems may change, our promise to bring Christ’s love to every person we meet remains constant.