The Family Center opens in East St. Louis with a mission to invite individuals from varied backgrounds to be catalysts for change by providing them with opportunities to work side-by-side with each other on programs and projects that cultivate positive changes in their lives and their communities. 

In 1995, East Side Heart & Home Housing is founded to construct affordable housing for low-income families in East St. Louis. The Family Center work alongside East Side Heart & Home in efforts to rehabilitate the neighborhood, and in January 2013 the two organizations merge to become East Side Heart & Home Family Center under the leadership of its founding director, Sister Carol Lehmkuhl, assisted by Sister Mary Ann Buhr.