Our Story

Founded in 1963, the Huntsville office was officially opened at the old St. Mary's School Convent, 400 Holmes Avenue, as the Bureau of Catholic Charities. The office quickly expanded its services to meet the community's specific needs, providing food, clothing, medicine, rent, and utility assistance, as well as adoption services. Shortly, the needs exceeded the facility and the staffing so the agency moved to larger facilities at 208 Bob Wallace Avenue, shortened its name to Catholic Charities, and hired the agency's first full-time lay employee.

By 1967, the Diocese built the building at our current location, 1010 Church Street, and four social workers (3 Trinitarian sisters and one lay social worker) and three support staff moved in. In 1969, the Diocese of Birmingham was established and continued the services the agency was already providing.

In 1971, the agency name was changed to Catholic Social Services to differentiate our work from that of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.

In 1980, the direct assistance program became a separate agency named the Catholic Center of Concern. This change allowed local United Way funds to be accessed for emergency services to families in Madison County.

From 2021 through 2025, the Center proudly administered the Emergency Rental Assistance federal grant for the city of Huntsville, helping thousands of households facing financial hardship avoid homelessness.

Today staffing includes four employees and a corps of dedicated volunteers and donors without whom the programs could not exist.