League of Catholic Women Building

In 1906, a group of women from all over Detroit associated with the Catholic Church organized the Weinman Club as a charitable organization,[2] dedicated to providing assistance to immigrants flooding into Detroit.[3] In 1911, the club was renamed the Catholic Settlement Association, and in 1915 it was reorganized and again renamed the League of Catholic Women.[2] As immigration was curtailed in the 1920s, the League shifted focus to assisting single young women who were seeking employment in the city.[3]

When this building was constructed, the League spent over $1,000,000, raised by a membership numbering some 12,000 women.[2] The League named the building Casgrain Hall in honor of the League's founder, Anastasia Casgrain.[4]

The building originally provided accommodations for 250 women. These women were between the ages of 18 and 30 and earned less than $150 per month. The building also housed the League's offices, and included a cafeteria, a chapel, library, ballroom, auditorium and a roof top garden.[2]

Over time, the aims of the League changed, as they opened community centers and neighborhood services.[4] In the 1960s, the League began providing housing to women attending Wayne State University's School of Nursing.[2] In 1972, the League repaired and improved the building.[4] In 1982, the building was converted into 82 apartment units for low-income elderly and/or handicapped with Section 8 rent subsidies.[4]

In 1994, the organization officially changed its name from the League of Catholic Women to Metro Matrix Human Services.[4] The League of Catholic Women continued as a division of Metro Matrix, and the organization continues to operate from the building.

• Matrix Human Services