Founded in 1850 to care for children orphaned during Milwaukee’s cholera epidemic, SaintA has evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of families in the city.
The organization has revamped into a residential treatment facility, established and operated a public charter school, and grown to become a multi-service human services agency that offers prevention, intervention and crisis resources.
In that time, SaintA has become recognized as a national leader in trauma-informed care, an approach to human services and healing practices rooted in neuroscience findings about how trauma affects brain development and functioning. Its approach is used to train those in human services nationwide and has been recognized by the likes of Oprah Winfrey.
A grant from the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation allowed SaintA to serve some of those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic via telehealth mental health services and allowed students to participate in virtual learning.
In August 2021, SaintA announced that a $2 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will fund a new partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin to provide evidence-based trauma-informed assessment and treatment for children and families in Milwaukee’s central city.
“I’m excited to accept this award on behalf of our 313 employees who bring passion to their work every day, in the good times which are many, and in the tough times, which are real as well.”
- Ann Leinfelder Grove, president and CEO, SaintA
