History

In a small wooden structure on Broadway in Albany, New York, four Sisters of the Good Shepherd opened their doors to troubled and homeless women in 1887. This began St. Anne Institute’s tradition of loving, caring and protecting that has been sustained throughout the century. The sisters operated a program where work on the Institute’s farm and laundry complemented academic and spiritual programs for the girls.

Since 1887, St. Anne Institute has been helping children and families develop the confidence and skills they need to overcome crisis in their lives. Because each client’s circumstances are unique, treatment plans are specifically tailored to meet their needs as identified through the referral evaluation process. Later, as our client’s needs change, the flexibility of St. Anne Institute’s multidisciplinary team approach allows treatments to be modified to accommodate those changes. Our total program is designed to meet the needs of children and their families through a comprehensive range of independent but interrelated services including: residential and non-residential treatment for adolescent females, a special education preschool and a community-based treatment program that specializes in sex abuse prevention and intervention for males and females of all ages and their families.

By the 1940’s, most of the girls in residence were adolescents and academic education had become more important than preparation for manual labor. As our children’s problems became more complex, St. Anne expanded and improved its programs to better meet their evolving needs. St. Anne now stands as one of only three agencies statewide that provides residential and day treatment programs exclusively for adolescent females. We were the first agency in the state of New York (and remain one of the few) to offer treatment services to youthful sex offenders and their families in a non-residential setting.

In 1981, a lay Board of Directors assumed leadership of the agency from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. St. Anne Institute has emerged as a secular treatment center offering outstanding residential, educational and preventive services to over 800 children and families each year from 40 counties throughout New York State.

The evolution of St. Anne Institute did not happen by chance. The groundwork for our success was laid by the teachings of St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. Today, a Board of Trustees and staff successfully build upon St. Mary Euphrasia’s philosophy of humanitarian service and creative programs responsive to new generations of troubled families.