The new organization is beginning to work "with city officials, community leaders, social service groups, and all the good people of Detroit" in identifying needs and preparing "solutions guided by the social teaching of the Catholic Church," said Jason Shanks, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeastern Michigan.
He told CNA that decision makers should be "mindful of those in need, especially the poor and vulnerable, throughout the city."
Individual Catholic parishes, religious orders and societies provide invaluable assistance to those in need in Detroit and surrounding areas as well.
On the east side of the city, Capuchin Soup Kitchen feeds tens of thousands of people per year and offers clothing to those in need, hosts an urban farm and provides services to those recovering from substance abuse.
In the southwest, the Cabrini Clinic, one of the oldest free medical clinics in the country, offers "education, prevention and treatment without charge."
The St. Vincent de Paul Society assists 30,000 households each year by providing food, clothing and emergency assistance, while St. Leo's Soup Kitchen, health clinics run by the Knights of Malta, and a variety of other parish initiatives help people find work, housing, and other services.
As Catholics work across Detroit to help their neighbors in need, the archdiocese itself is moving its chancery and offices from various sites across the diocese, to a centralized location in the heart of the city.
"This move will bring us figuratively and literally closer together," Archbishop Vigneron said in an April 30 press release on the topic.
"In making this move, we are giving a good example," he explained, saying that this option was more affordable than maintaining four buildings and keeps the archdiocese offices close to those most in need.
"Together, we refocus on our mission - Sharing Christ in and through the Church," the archbishop said.
Adelaide Mena was the DC Correspondent for Catholic News Agency until 2017 and is a 2012 graduate of Princeton University.