History of Borromeo Housing, Inc. (BHI)

Borromeo Housing, Inc. (BHI) was founded in 1988 as a non-sectarian, faith-based community service agency by a group of women parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church who were moved by the plight of homeless young mothers and their babies. While working closely with the Arlington Housing Corporation, the founding board members designed a program for at-risk young mothers and their children that provided safe housing and the opportunity for personal development.

For over two decades, the residential program has not only kept young mothers and their babies safe in the short term, but has demonstrated promise in helping these young women and their children in the long term. BHI believes that all young mothers facing homelessness can achieve an education and professional employment while being responsible parents to their children. BHI offers a quality living environment, nurturing support and a disciplined framework to young mothers who are motivated and capable of using our services to achieve their goals.

Starting in a rented small house with 4 young mothers and a handful volunteers, BHI has grown to provide services to nearly 100 young mothers utilizing a volunteer group of over 25 passionate individuals at any given time.

The Infant Care Supply Center started as an informal activity of collecting items from friends in the community and distributing to needy mothers on an infrequent basis. But the demand and the success of the efforts resulted in the program being formalized as the Infant Care Supply Center. From serving a handful of mothers, the supply center now supports over 50 families a month. All items are donated by individuals and organizations.

Timeline

1988 — Borromeo Housing founded

2008 — With the help of Arlington County, BHI purchases its first house.

2010 — Infant Supply Care Center begins, helping women unable to join residential program

2012 — BHI launches new web presence with Createathon DC