Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany is the social service arm of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. Its establishment in 1917 sparked a vision and a commitment to active witness on behalf of the Scriptural values of mercy and justice. Catholic Charities, recognizing human need at all stages of life, responds to all persons regardless of race, creed or lifestyle, with special emphasis on the economically poor and the vulnerable. Catholic Charities serves and empowers persons in need, advocates for a just society, calls forth and collaborates with men and women of good will in fulfillment of its mission. Catholic Charities represents an open door to assistance for the needs of the many individuals that reach out for help.

During its early beginnings through the 1950’s, Catholic Charities primarily served in the urban areas of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, New York. At that time, clergy, religious women, and volunteers worked with orphaned children, foster and adoptive families, the sick and dying in hospitals. The Cadre Report of the National Conference of Catholic Charities in 1972 was a primary catalyst that influenced Catholic Charities mission and expanded its role to reach out to the needy beyond direct assistance. Catholic Charities broadened its focus to include the pursuit of social justice and social awareness of the root causes of poverty. Catholic Charities developed additional objectives and activities including advocacy, social planning, and public policy development while influencing social welfare legislation on behalf of the poor and vulnerable. Catholic Charities continues to reach out to its communities to inform, encourage and provide avenues of active participation to build hopeful futures and help people living in poverty take control of their lives.

Moreover, during the mid-to-late 1970s, Catholic Charities launched a large scale initiative to expand its social services beyond the Capital Region urban areas and to serve all 14 counties in the Diocese of Albany.  Today, approximately 1,100 Catholic Charities’ employees and 1300 volunteers serve nearly 100,000 people annually throughout its 15 community-based agencies.  The services provided by Catholic Charities are as varied as new needs arise and represent a seamless continuum of care to address the needs of children, women and men at all stages of life.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany is affiliated with Catholic Charities USA, one of the nation's largest social service networks. Catholic Charities participates and collaborates in national networking, advocacy, program development and receives training and technical assistance for staff, volunteers and community’s faithful residents in support of its mission.

As a human services agency serving 14 counties of the Upstate New York, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany provides a wide array of services in areas such as: developmental disabilities, caregiver support, kinship care, elder care, HIV/AIDS,  community outreach, adolescent pregnancy and parenting, adoption, housing, homeless shelters, long term care and senior housing, Single Room Occupancy facilities, group homes, residences, safe dwellings, family apartments, supervised living sites, community home for the dying, foster homes, host homes, domestic violence, Hispanic outreach, immigration, summer camp, child and adult day care, after-school, family child care support, youth mentoring, mental health and addiction counseling, substance abuse prevention, case management, service coordination, habilitation, basic needs, dispute resolution, mediation, crime victims assistance, translation, transportation, wheels-for-work, congregate meals, food pantries, food services, jail/prison support services, volunteer services, disaster/relief services, and emergency assistance in addition to other special programs and holiday assistance. With a constant eye on how the most vulnerable members of our society are faring, Catholic Charities is committed to developing diverse responses to local community needs.