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Our preschool now serves 35-40 poverty-level children ages 2 1/2 - 5 years of age with an educational enrichment program. We began September 1998 in a new modular unit with an entirely "new look": a newly licensed, child-focused space, a credentialed head teacher as well as our previously credentialed director, a five days a week program instead of our previous three days a week, and the enrollment of a number of homeless children.

• Educational enrichment:
  • Pre-reading skills
  • Math concepts
  • Art & Music
  • Science
  • Preschool Computer Center
  • Building of Social Skills
• Daily snacks and lunches provided
• Case management services and support for parents

The preschool is open Monday through Friday
3 year olds attend 9:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
4 - 5 year olds attend 12:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.

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Enriching both the giver and the receiver; volunteers have an opportunity to interact with people different from themselves and to learn about some of the causes and effects of povery and homelessness.

• Provides forty low-income families in the Downtown and West Oakland areas with up to three grocery bags per month.
• Children enrolled in the Preschool program receive daily lunches and snacks.
• Daily coffee, sandwiches and soup to homeless senior citizens, and six senior dinners each week.
Eighty seniors receive a hot meal every day.
• Mercy brown Bag provides groceries for low-income seniors on Fridays.
• Provides Christmas baskets of food and gifts to 350 families with children.

Register for the grocery bags on Tuesdays at 1:00 P.M.

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Through St. Mary’s Center Senior Services Program we offer a broad range of free services to meet the comprehensive needs of more than 1000 seniors in our community who are 55 and over:

• Advocates for Hope and Justice:   Lived experiences inform action on social policy.



• Coaching Elders:   Dispelling the stigma of mental illness and finding ways to wholeness.



• Community Nursing Program   Licensed nurses and graduate nursing students provide free health screenings and other medical services. Last year 175 seniors were served in this program.



• Money Management:   Includes representative payee services for homeless seniors, budget planning and counseling, and benefit advocacy.



• Outreach and Advocacy:   Links over 700 frail homebound elderly persons to a variety of resources, helping them to live independently for as long as possible.



• Recovery 55:   A daily eight-week senior outpatient alcohol and drug abuse recovery program.



• Senior Homeless Case Management:   Locates housing, financial support, health services and other basic needs for homeless seniors. Placed 60 persons in permanent housing last year.



• Senior Drop-in Center:   Seniors enjoy coffee and pastry, share stories, play games or watch television. Open 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. See work from our senior artists.



• Senior Meals:   Dinners every day except Saturday provide good nutrition as well as an opportunity to socialize.



• Wisdom Center:   Every Wednesday free classes are offered for those 55 and over who want to share their wisdom, engage in creative expression and participate in the community.



• Winter Shelter:   Provides shelter, food, and support to 25 seniors each night from December to April.

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