St. Mary's Center provides food, shelter, and a welcoming community to homeless and at-risk seniors and a preschool education to low-income children. In addition to critical "safety net" services, we offer extensive case management, addiction recovery, supportive housing, and advocacy and outreach programs to help poor seniors age with dignity in their own homes. 

St. Mary's Center continues to be recognized by peer organizations throughout Alameda County of its extraordinary level of services to low-income elderly and preschoolers in West Oakland. Preschool director, Quinetta Lewis was honored last fall by Habitot Children's Museum for her outstanding work as an educator. In May 2016, East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO) will honor St. Mary's Center and our Senior Advocates for Hope and Justice, coordinated by Janny Castillo, for leadership in social justice and grassroots advocacy. Charity Navigator has rated St. Mary's Center "Four stars" six years in a row for its accountability, fiscal integrity, and transparency. 

St. Mary's Center is delighted to honor Amir Soltani, executive producer and co-director of Dogtown Redemption, a film exploring the complex dynamics of race, class, and systemic poverty in our neighborhood of Dogtown in West Oakland. The documentary was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival last fall and will debut on PBS' Independent Lens in May. Amir's gifts of storytelling and passion for human rights unite in a powerful film humanizing and celebrating an America most of us do not see.