For over a century Matrix Human Services, built on history and heritage, has provided human services to the Detroit Metropolitan community, its families and individuals. Our Programs touch lives in a multitude of ways, giving hope where there was none and keeping the promise for a better future. We are different races, faiths, and income levels working together and realizing that every contribution is important.

It is with sincere appreciation and warmest regards that we thank the thousands of volunteers, donors, clients, community partners, Directors, Staff, and those who simply hold us in their prayers for their continued support over the years. It would not be possible to impact the number of lives and dedicate ourselves to serving those in need if it were not for your generous gifts of time, financial support and assistance over the past century.

We invite you to read about our heritage as we reflect back on the legacy that brought us here today.

The League of Catholic Women
Matrix Human Services was founded in 1906 by a small and generous group of individuals known as The League of Catholic Women. They recognized the importance of helping the less fortunate who migrated to Detroit seeking a new life and finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment. Programs were designed to provide opportunity and stability and Matrix remains focused on fostering self-sufficiency in disadvantaged and at-risk populations today. Over the years the League grew to several thousand members throughout the Metropolitan Detroit area. Matrix Human Services humbly acknowledges that our ability to deliver services that make a difference is attributed to those founding individuals who were compassionate for their fellow man and gave of themselves. As we continue together to build on that special heritage we will honor our founders by always focusing on the person, remaining true to the dignity of the family, and firmly resolving to love our neighbor.

A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF MATRIX HUMAN SERVICES

• 1906 - Beginning of organized efforts to serve the needy in our community by a small group of charitable Catholic women who established Weinman Settlement House on Woodbridge, the first actual settlement house in Michigan.
  
  
• 1911 - Name changed from the Weinman Center to Catholic Settlement Association of Detroit.
  
  
• 1915 - Incorporated as League of Catholic Women of Detroit. Weinman Settlement House moved to Larned at Orleans.
  
  
• 1917 - Watson Club House a residence for young women opened on Watson Street.
  
  
• 1919 - St. Anne's Community Center opened in Hamtramck.
  
  
• 1920 - St. Rita's Community Center opened on McKay at Davidson. Big Sisters organized - volunteer welfare work in parishes.
  
  
• 1925 - Madeline Sophie Training Home for girls opened on Euclid Street - later to become Barat House on John R for 24 emotionally/socially disturbed adolescent girls.
  
  
• 1925 - First resale shop opened on Henry Street - later to be called Bargain Counter.
  
  
• 1927 - Participated in founding of Detroit's Community Fund.
  
  
• 1927 - Casgrain Hall is built and named in honor of the foundress of the organization, Anastasia Casgrain; 190 room residence facility for young working women with accommodations also for our administrative offices, community meetings and parties.
  
  
• 1938 - At the request of Cardinal Mooney, we helped form the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women as the official women's organizations federation in the Archdiocese.
  
  
• 1939 - St. Peter Claver Community Center and Nursery School founded adjacent to the Brewster Douglass Housing Project - later to become Peter Claver Neighborhood Services.
  
  
• 1943 - Casa Maria Community Center and Nursery School founded on Trumbull in the Hispanic Corktown area - later to become Casa Maria Family Services.
  
  
• 1930's through 1950's - Operated the Youth Services Bureau which was the forerunner of Catholic Charities and later, Catholic Social Services.
  
  
• 1950's through 1960's - Organized Parish Personal Services and the Apostolate of Nursing Homes. Both programs adopted by the parishes themselves in the 1960's.
  
  
• 1967 - Bargain Counter North opened in Berkley. Henry Street store had moved to Second and then to Mack, and was renamed Bargain Counter East.
  
  
• 1969 - Community Board took over operation of St. Peter Claver with United Community Services with our continued support.
  
  
• 1971 - Project Transition founded as our pre-release residential job training and rehabilitation program for women offenders.
  
  
• 1972 - Some major repairs and improvements in Casgrain Hall which, by this time, was basically housing for low-income and elderly men and women subsidized by our fundraising efforts.
  
  
• 1974 - Dearborn Bargain Boutique opened on Schaefer.
  
  
• 1977 - Family Center (child abuse counseling program) taken over by Barat at the request of United Community Services and Children's Hospital. Barat now called Barat Human Services and later, Barat Child and Family Services.
  
  
• 1978 - TASC (Training and Services to the Community) - a CETA funded job training program initiated specifically to provide on-the-job training in clerical, maintenance and janitorial work. Ended when CETA withdrew all such funds in 1981.
  
  
• 1978 - Bargain Boutique Macomb opened on Harper in St. Clair Shores.
  
  
• 1979 - Resumed operation of St. Peter Claver at the request of the Community Board - now to be Peter Claver Neighborhood Services.
  
  
• 1979 - Formation of Orchestra Place Development Corporation (OPDC) with our participation as an integral part - organization of businesses, institutions and citizens in the Woodward/Cass Corridor between Mack and Warren for purpose of redevelopment and beautification of area.
  
  
• 1981 - Began operation of Vistas Nuevas Head Start - a federally funded preschool program with sites throughout Southwest Detroit.
  
  
• 1981 - Bargain Boutique Detroit (former Bargain Counter East) opened on E. Warren.
  
  
• 1981 - Beginning of total rehabilitation of Casgrain Hall via Michigan State Housing Development Authority financing.
  
  
• 1982 - Opening of Respite Center in Barat House with assistance of Junior League of Detroit - emergency care for 5 preschool children at risk of abuse.
  
  
• 1982 - Completion of Casgrain Hall renovation into 82 full apartment units for low-income elderly and/or handicapped, all with Section 8 rent subsidies. Our Central Program Offices also renovated and lower level developed into conference area named the Tracy Center in honor of League supporters, Emmet and Frances Tracy.
  
  
• 1985 - Initiated a job training and placement program in Building Maintenance and Repair for low-income high school dropouts at Peter Claver.
  
  
• 1986 - Began operation of Off The Streets (OTS) - counseling and temporary shelter in two Detroit sites for runaway youth, with goal being reunification with family.
  
  
• 1987 - Began operation of Family and Youth Resources (FAYR) - a family based counseling program for juvenile offenders with the goal of diverting them from further penetration into the criminal justice system. This is replication of successful demonstration project that we participated in with the Michigan Department of Social Services from 1982 to 1984.
  
  
• 1989 - Casa Maria Family Services opened the Casa Maria Academy - an alternative educational program for youth, aged 10 to 13, who are experiencing educational and/or behavioral difficulties in the public schools. This is a joint effort between us, the Detroit Public Schools and Wayne County Youth Services. This academy later to become Ser-Casa Academy, one of the first charter schools in Michigan
  
  
• 1989 - Project Transition moves from the downtown YWCA into the former Brent Hospital in Northwest Detroit. The building is renamed Seton Center and devoted to serving the needs of women, children and families with tenants including Project Transition, Barat Child and Family Services, Simon House, and Healthy Start. Although the building is owned by the University of Detroit/Mercy, Project Transition is responsible for all building maintenance and operations.
  
  
• 1990 - Project Transition began the Women and Infants At Risk program - a residential treatment program for pregnant and postpartum women offenders.
  
  
• 1991 - Vistas Nuevas Head Start expanded to serve 468 children at sites within Detroit public housing projects. Vistas Nuevas now serves 1,256 low-income children per year.
  
  
• 1991 - Family and Youth Resources began operating Youth Assistance Programs in Northeast Detroit and Hamtramck. These programs provide group counseling to first offender youths and their parents along with positive recreational activities, mentoring and community service opportunities.
  
  
• 1991 - Peter Claver, now known as St. Peter Claver Career Training Center, began providing training and placement services to parolees. These services include Job Readiness classes, work experience placements, vocational training, career counseling and job placement.
  
  
• 1992 - Established the Head Start Family Service Center, a new agency which is an extension of services for Head Start parents, providing City-wide literacy and counseling programs, job training, substance abuse treatment and general family assistance.
  
  
• 1994 - Organization name officially changed from the League of Catholic Women of Metropolitan Detroit to metroMatrix Human Services. The League of Catholic Women continues its fundraising efforts as an agency of metroMatrix.
  
  
• 1994 - Metropolitan Retiree Senior Centers (formerly the Walter P. Reuther Senior Centers) became an agency of metroMatrix July 1, 1994. This new agency provides services to senior citizens at four sites in Detroit and Pontiac along with outreach assistance to homebound elderly.
  
  
• 1995 - The Bargain Boutique store on E. Warren in Detroit closes to be reopened as office space for Off The Street’s outreach efforts. Bargain Boutique moves to Royal Oak.
  
  
• 1997 - Parsons Street Corporation is developed, receives State certification as a Certified Housing Development Organization and receives its first $100,000 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to acquire/renovate five units of housing for low-income families.
  
  
• 1997 - Off The Streets begins the new program, Transition – Off The Streets (TOTS), a transitional living program providing 6 to 12 months of residential and supportive services to homeless 16 to 19 year old males. Initial funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  
  
• 1997 - Mt. Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church donates its property to metroMatrix including a 49,000 square foot main building, three adjacent homes, parking lot and grounds at McNichols and Gratiot in Northeast Detroit. Joining Matrix’s Family and Youth Resources (FAYR) agency who had been operating out of this location since 1994, is the Family Service Center and the Metropolitan Retiree Service Center’s Eastside Olga M. Madar Senior Center.
  
  
• 1997 - Project Transition begins Mothers and Children (MAC) Program, a substance abuse prevention program aimed at the children of female offenders funded by the City of Detroit, Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention.
  
  
• 1998 - metroMatrix Human Services changes name to Matrix Human Services
  
  
• 1999 - Project Transition – Independence program begins providing housing for single women with children who are chronic substance abusers and are homeless at the time of discharge from Project Transition. Parsons Street Corporation serves as the property manager while Project Transition provides ongoing supportive services to assist the families in their quest for independence. Program operations funded initially through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
  
  
• 2000 - Boniface Community Services (formerly Boniface Human Services) becomes an agency of Matrix on January 1, 2000. This new agency provides substance abuse services to adults and youth.
  
  
• The Head Start Family Service Center assumes responsibility for the citywide Detroit Head Start Father Initiative. Its mission is to increase the participation of fathers who have children in the Detroit Head Start program.
  
  
• 2001 - Off The Streets opens a new program at the E. Jefferson site providing housing and supportive services to men who are medically fragile. This program is funded through the Southeastern Michigan Health Association.
  
  
• 2002 - Matrix Human Services is accredited through the Council on Accreditation (COA). COA’s program of quality assurance is designed to identify those providers that have set for themselves high standards for performance, and have made a commitment to their constituents to enhance the effectiveness of the services they deliver.
  
  
• 2003 - Southwest Detroit Self-Sufficiency Center (SWDSCC) is funded through the Empowerment Zone and becomes a program of Matrix. SWDSCC is a one-stop referral center for families in southwest Detroit.
  
  
• 2004 - Barat Child & Family Services begins a new youth program - Youth Assistance Program (YAP) provides after school and summers programming to youth age 7 to 17 that are at risk of entering the juvenile justice system. YAP provides weekly monitoring, substance abuse prevention, conflict resolution, individual counseling, tutoring and homework assistance, cultural activities, career counseling, computer classes and recreational activities.
  
  
• 2005 - Project Transition Housing becomes a partner in eight comprehensive neighborhood revitalization projects intended to provide affordable, safe housing to clients who have been designated as having “special needs”. Those special needs clients are either homeless or chronic substance abusers or are former offenders or victims of domestic violence.
  
  
• 2007 - The Mt. Zion Center is renamed the Matrix Human Services Center (The Center) and now operates as a program within Matrix.
  
  
• The Center begins a new program funded by Skillman- Connecting Families provides educational (GED Preparation, Computer Training, and Academic Assistance for youth) and family support services (Referrals and/or Intergenerational Activities) for low income families with children in grades 4 thru 7, who reside in the 48205 geographical area.
  
  
• 2007 - Women ARISE became a new program funded by Hudson Webber Foundation to continue providing rehabilitative programs for offenders and ex-offender women in Detroit and Wayne county.
  
  
• 2008 - Began the Matrix Quality Care Program which is a new social enterprise program that offers light house keeping, personal care and transportation services to the community for a fee to benefit our Reuther Senior Services Program for the poor.
  
  
• 2008 - Began the Readers are Leaders Program which educates expectant moms and parents of children aged birth to three on the importance of developmental learning, literacy and language in their child’s life. Providing skills to ensure their children grow up ready to read and succeed in school.
  
  
• 2008 - Closed the Casa Maria Family Services program in September 2008 due to funding reductions. Casa Maria provided after-school programming for children that provided tutoring, archery, and a baseball league etc.
  
  
• 2009 - The name Barat was preserved within the name of the division name Barat Child and Family Services Division (previously Child and Family Services Division).
  
  
• 2009 - Changed the name of Project Transition Housing (PTH) to Matrix Partnership for Housing (MPH).
  
  
• 2009 - The WatRUfightn4.org online social movement online initiative began which is aimed to inspire volunteerism and civic engagement in youth.
  
  
• 2010 - Matrix began to provide fiduciary responsibilities for the Paula Tutman Children’s Toothfairy Foundation. This program is dedicated to the oral health of uninsured and underserved children under the age of 12.
  
  
• 2010 - The WatRUfightn4? short film designed to ignite the sprit of volunteerism in youth was nominated in the Societal Concern Category for an EMMY® award. On June 5, 2010 the WatRUfightn4? Video won the EMMY® award at the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
  
  
• 2010 - Welcome Home Osborn (Detroit Safe Community Collaborative) began January 1, 2010. Offering supportive services to returning citizens in the Osborn Community including assistance with housing, family reunification, employment, training, workshops, mentoring and case management.
  
  
• 2010 - The Barat House program (previously Barat Child and Family Services) closed its doors on January 31, 2010.