Mary'S Center

Mary's Center, founded in 1988, is a Community Health Center that provides health care, family literacy and social services to individuals whose needs too often go unmet by the public and private systems. Mary's Center uses a holistic, multi-pronged approach to help each participant access individualized services that set them on the path toward good health, stable families, and economic independence. The Center offers high-quality, professional care in a safe and trusting environment to residents from the entire DC metropolitan region, including individuals from nearly 50 countries, through 8 locations. Mary's Center provides access to health care services regardless of participants' ability to pay. We owe our success to a strategy of linking health care to community-based support services while helping family members reach their education goals. We believe that individuals who are healthy and feel supported in their communities become better learners and are motivated to achieve greater economic stability. We have observed that stable families place more emphasis on the educational achievement of their children, thus strengthening the well-being--and health--of the next generation. We listen closely and carefully to our participants, and then work with them to create a customized prescription of services to help them attain good physical and mental health. We also work with participants to set attainable education goals that, once reached, will bolster their economic stability. Because the individuals and families we serve often face multiple life challenges, we use a social change model that addresses the many factors that lead to poor health such as poverty, limited education, and few job opportunities. By integrating and linking our own services with those offered by our community partners, we empower vulnerable families to lead healthy and productive lives. This comprehensive approach yields results. The mothers who come to us for prenatal care deliver babies with healthy birth weights. Participants with diabetes learn to control their blood sugar levels. Parents who attend our various programs increase involvement in their children's education and watch them graduate from college and lead productive lives. Our web of services helps the region save millions of dollars as we prevent child abuse, gang involvement, teen pregnancy and chronic diseases. Simply stated, Mary's Center changes lives every day.