Catholic Charities of Louisville has opened its new headquarters in downtown Louisville under the name Catholic Charities Center at 435 E. Broadway, the former AAA Kentucky building.
Most of the 115 staffers who will work at the center are settling into their new workspace. But amid the move, on Monday, March 11, it was clear the work hasn’t stopped. For an agency that served more than 46,000 people last year, it appears stopping isn’t an option.
The entryway and waiting room were buzzing as families checked in for appointments or waited for a class to start.
The children’s area welcomed youngsters who played while their parents were busy learning English, meeting with a case manager or attending a parents’ support group. A small playground with a sandbox and a station for making music awaited them as the day warmed.
In the break room — a basement space with a kitchen and large refrigerator — students on Spring break from James Madison University ate lunch before returning to their volunteer work. Their afternoon would be focused on building storage shelves in the new center, where emergency items will be stored for families in need.
“The new Catholic Charities Center represents a serious leveling-up in our ability to serve some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” said Lisa DeJaco Crutcher, Catholic Charities’ chief executive officer, in a press release about the move. “By having so many programs under one roof for the first time, we’ll be able to carry out our mission with more focus, collaboration, and gusto than ever before.”
Catholic Charities offices were formerly located in two primary locations — 2911 South Fourth Street on the campus of Holy Name Church and in the 2200 block of West Market on the campus of the former St. Anthony Church.
Plans to consolidate the offices into a more modern and accessible headquarters have been in the works since 2019. The two former locations were about five miles and 15 minutes apart, making collaboration among staff difficult, said DeJaco Crutcher in an interview in 2019. The facilities were aging, lacked accessibility and were needlessly costing the agency nearly $200,000 a year, she said at the time.
‘By having so many programs under one roof for the first time, we’ll be able to carry out our mission with more focus, collaboration, and gusto than ever before.’
Lisa DeJaco Crutcher, CEO of Catholic Charities of Louisville
The majority of Catholic Charities’ programs will now operate in the new center. Among them are classes for people coming to Louisville as refugees, providing instruction in a variety of areas, such as English, computer skills and job preparation. Programs for expecting parents, residents of long-term care facilities, community gardeners, survivors of human trafficking and several others are housed at the center, too.
According to the press release, about 115 of the agency’s 144 employees will work from the new headquarters. Another 20 will work from leased space in the nearby MedCenter One building at 501 E. Broadway.
Sister Visitor Center at 23rd and West Market streets will remain at that location; Common Table, a culinary arts job training program, will remain in the Dare to Care Community Kitchen at 1200 S. 28th Street; and The Father Jack Jones Food Pantry will continue to operate from the Holy Name Church rectory at 2914 S. Third Street. Catholic Charities staff also will continue to do anti-human trafficking work from offices in Owensboro and Lexington.
DeJaco Crutcher noted that the new center is conveniently located for clients near major roadways, bus routes and other social service agencies, such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill and the Smoketown Family Wellness Center.
Catholic Charities purchased the building in 2022 for $5.1 million from Stock Yards Bank. Renovations to the building, which was used as a bank operations center, are wrapping up now.
Catholic Charities plans to host a grand opening event on April 15.
