We help mothers and children overcome crisis and achieve lasting independence and stability by providing a safe and supportive home, child care, education and employment assistance, and social work services within a Catholic community that welcomes all. For more than 162 years, St. Ann's has provided a refuge for needy women and children in the Washington, D.C. area, pioneering programs to reach vulnerable young people in the community regardless of race or faith. The organization was founded in 1860 by three Daughters of Charity to serve foundlings and single women in childbirth. President Abraham Lincoln signed St. Ann's charter in 1863. Today, St. Ann's three residential programs recognize and enhance human dignity and worth by providing residential care and services to pregnant and parenting adolescents in crisis and to young single mothers struggling to attain self-sufficiency. St. Ann's Child Care Center provides quality, developmental day care to the children of working families.