The CARITAS Center

CARITAS has been serving the Richmond community for more than 30 years, growing and expanding to address unmet needs with compassion, innovation, and expertise. We have a history of success providing the tools for self-sufficiency and dignity to men and women in crisis.

Where We Are

We couldn’t be more grateful for the thousands of volunteers, community partners, and donors who have made our work possible. Because they invested in CARITAS, we’ve been able to invest in the future of Richmond, creating healthier lives for us all. We create the most effective change in our community by leveraging dollars, in-kind donations, and volunteer hours to offer programs based on best practices and evidence-based models. Based on three decades of success, we apply our expertise, data, and research to making a larger impact in Richmond and beyond. We are excited to extend our mission to serve more women in the CARITAS Center, starting with recovery services.                                                       

Where We’re Going  

Opened in December 2020, the CARITAS Center brings all the solutions for breaking the cycles of homelessness and substance abuse under one roof. We can’t wait to watch CARITAS transform a south Richmond neighborhood and positively impact thousands of lives.

After decades of coordinating a mobile shelter effort in the Richmond region, it became clear that our clients needed more stability than moving around once a week can provide. There is also a great need for recovery services for women throughout the Richmond area. The CARITAS Center features the following elements:

• The William M. Walker Healing Place for Women – 140-bed peer-based recovery program with a fitness center and family visitation suite.
• CARITAS Works – Expanded state-of-the-art classroom space and a computer lab.
• Furniture Bank – Onsite warehouse space for Furniture Bank clients and volunteers.
• 47 Recovery Residences – Sober-living apartments for program graduates and qualifying community members.
• Women’s Emergency Shelter — A permanent location with 28 beds, providing a safe haven during crises and a bridge to stability.
• CARITAS Administrative Offices – All located efficiently under one roof with a well-equipped board room.
• Leased Office Space – For the Bon Secours Community Health Clinic in Manchester.

In November 2020, CARITAS was recognized with a Golden Hammer award for Social and Community Impact by the Historic Richmond Foundation.

Our New Address

Transformation Through Images

We are amazed by our talented and committed board members, including Dick Upton. Since the start of construction, he has tirelessly chronicled the transformation of the CARITAS Center through stunning images, with attention to the detail and heart behind the project. We will begin to share some of these images over the next several months on social media and more.

Watch our videos about the CARITAS Center

Go Deeper

• Download our Case Statement, which detailed our vision for the project.
• Meet the Program Manager of The Healing Place for Women. 
• Watch this one-minute drone video of the construction project.
• Watch our 3-minute video about the CARITAS Center on YouTube. Share it with friends and contacts.
• Read this story about how the Jenkins Foundation brought The Healing Place to Richmond in 2005 and helped us bring The Healing Place for Women to life.
• Hear from The Healing Place Program Director Al Jackson in this Q & A about recovery and expanding recovery services to women in Richmond.

In The News

• “Rebuilding Lives” – Richmond Magazine. Read about the scope of the human services work that will take place in the new CARITAS Center.
• “Help for women in addiction to expand with new CARITAS center in South Side” – Richmond Free Press.  An update on The Healing Place for Women as we prepared to move in to our new home.
• “How this abandoned warehouse will save lives” – WTVR Channel 6. See images and video of the warehouse CARITAS transformed into the new CARITAS Center.
• “Recovery, Job Training and a Network of Support at the Healing Place” – WCVE, Community Idea Stations. Listen in on the stories of the men and women The Healing Place and other CARITAS programs have transformed.
• “Shelter from the Storm”– Richmond Magazine. Shelter volunteer and editor Tina Eshlemen CARITAS talks about the changes to the CARITAS Shelter model in preparation of opening the new on-site shelter in South Richmond.
• “Old Tobacco Site to become new CARITAS home”– Richmond Times-Dispatch. This article takes readers through a thorough tour of the CARITAS Center, its financing, and the vision for the city’s future.
• “Nonprofit scores financing for new $27M Southside facility” – Richmond BizSense. CARITAS finalized its acquisition of historic and New Market Tax Credits for the CARITAS Center.

Join Us

CARITAS continues to invest in our community’s future. Tens of thousands of volunteers and donors have joined us in our 35-year journey to break the cycles of homelessness and addiction for all. We hope you will, too.

To tour our beautiful home, please register for a tour here.