USES was originally founded in 1892 as the Andover House in the South End, the first settlement house in Boston to address poverty, poor housing conditions, and fierce prejudice experienced by underserved populations, including emancipated slaves, immigrants, and rural laborers.

As USES celebrated its 125th year in 2017, we reaffirmed our founding vision of an inclusive community where neighbors from all walks of life come together to support one another. At the same time, we unveiled a bold, new model to better meet the needs of the community, focusing our efforts on families with children under the age of 18. Our goal is to help families in the South End and the surrounding areas stabilize, achieve economic mobility, and become more resilient through access to resources, programs, and connections to a diverse social network.

Today, our programs serve more than 300 children and their families. We have integrated our programs and implemented new initiatives to support the whole family. We provide children with early childhood education, after school programs, and Camp Hale, a summer camp in New Hampshire. We help parent and caregivers identify and pursue goals important to their family through one-on-one coaching. We also provide job training, placement and career development.

We value diversity in every setting and are committed to building diverse social networks of individuals with various backgrounds, skill sets, and perspectives who share our vision for breaking the cycle of poverty.

Together, we unite our community to strengthen families.