Archbishop will bless new Center for the Works of Mercy on June 22; new location near cathedral also houses Malta Clinic
DETROIT — After a temporary pause in services, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan’s Center for the Works of Mercy has resumed partial operations now in a larger, more accessible location on Woodward Avenue, across the street from the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Only a mile north of its former location at 8642 Woodward Ave., the new building — located at 10301 Woodward — opened May 7, ready to resume care for Metro Detroiters in need. Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan shares the new space with the Malta Medical and Dental Clinic, which also moved.
While the center still needs time to resume full operations, it is open for limited services and will fully reopen in mid-June following a ribbon cutting and building blessing by Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, said Isabella Agby, Catholic Charities' director of marketing and communications.
Agby said the move gives the center and its partners, like the Malta Clinic, more space to expand services as well as proximity to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the recently opened Cathedral Arts Apartments.
“We wanted to be closer to the cathedral, and we needed a better space for volunteering opportunities and to engage the Catholic community in the works of mercy,” Agby told Detroit Catholic. “It allows us to be a hub of Catholic service, and (to be) that nucleus that's needed.”
The new building is not only more spacious but also has its own parking lot and is all on one level. In addition to the Malta Clinic, the building also houses the Wayne County Prison Outreach ministry; the Hope Bakery, which trains and employs formerly incarcerated individuals; a clothing closet and a food pantry.
"It is like one-stop shopping for clients, if you will,” said Thomas V. Larabell, the Malta Clinic's board president and CEO. “They can access medical, dental, vision, food, clothing and other social services. (The building) has a very broad base of services, and we play off each other. We refer the patients and clients back and forth.”
The Malta Clinic, which is staffed entirely by volunteer dentists, doctors, ophthalmologists and pre-professional student volunteers, will now be able to serve 25% more clients because of the move to a larger space, Larabell said.
"Our goal is to treat people who have little money and no ability to get insurance; we are serving the poorest of the poor,” Larabell explained. “In the new building, we are on the first floor. People don’t have to get up to the second floor, and we have more room to serve more people. We will be adding two more vision rooms, another medical exam room, and another dental operatory.”
In addition to expanded ophthalmology services, Larabell said the clinic plans to add a dermatology clinic in the new building, which will help them better serve clients with diabetes.
Since opening in 2004, the Malta Dental and Medical Clinic has helped countless Metro Detroiters, Larabell said, and its services have changed people’s lives.
“People can have the opportunity to get a job,” Larabell said. “If you can't see very well, if you have no teeth or they are in bad shape, you can’t get a job. We had one lady who came in who had been holed up in her house for a long time. She didn’t want to go out because she was embarrassed — she didn’t go to church, she didn’t do anything. She came in and got dentures, and she has been volunteering almost every day at Catholic Charities in their clothing closet.
“Another fellow who was a roofer got dentures, and he was able to start his own business and go out and sell. He couldn’t do that if he didn’t have teeth," Larabell said. "We hear amazing stories of people who feel better about themselves. We’re very pleased with the new location and the opportunity to once again partner with other charitable services.”
Agby said Catholic Charities will remain intentional about finding gaps in services and working to provide the works of mercy in Detroit, which will be easier in the new location.
“The new building allows us to put that great presence on Woodward and showcase what we do — the great works of mercy: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, counseling the doubtful, prison ministries,” Agby said. “It encompasses everything and allows people to engage with the beautiful presence of the Blessed Sacrament on Woodward.”
