Charles Settlement House

Charles Settlement House was founded in 1917 by Miss Harriet Barry and a group of Catholic lay women as an affiliate of the Catholic Charities. These women assisted Italian, and later German, immigrants to settle in the community. The agency is named after Charles Barry, the father of the founder. It was originally located on Magne Street (now West... Broad Street). In 1919, Charles House relocated to 445 Jay Street, a site the agency still uses, and began receiving Community Chest funding. At the outset, the settlement provided health services until St. Mary's and General Hospitals provided this service and as a place of worship until St. Francis of Assisi Church was built in 1929. Early programs included English, Citizenship, Nutrition, and Homemaking classes to help the newcomer adjust to his environment. Early social development programs, still an important component of agency programs, included clubs and classes for grade school youth, teens, and adults and summer programs for youth. In 1965, a Neighborhood Development Program to encourage citizen participation through Neighborhood Associations, and a family casework service were added. Senior services and a nutrition center were added in 1972 as that need was identified in the community. The agency was incorporated separately from Catholic Charities in 1978, and soon after events began that would bring major change to the agency and the community. In the early 1980s, Charles Settlement House was part of a wide scale community-based planning study. The results of the study indicated that there were significant human service needs in portions of northwest Rochester (north of Lyell Avenue) and that those areas were unserved and underserved in terms of programs and services to address the needs. The Board of Directors of Charles Settlement House felt it was their duty to review the findings of the study carefully and determine what, if anything would be the appropriate response of the agency. An Advisory Board was established to represent both community groups ...Read More