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THE FIRST GENERATION OF CHILDREN FREE FROM POVERTY
GENERATIONMEET
(SEE PAGE 4)
S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 E D I T I O N
160,317
20,000will need help in their lifetime
Catholics in our diocese
13,668
1,640will need help in their lifetime
students in Catholic school
18,000
2,160will need help in their lifetime
served by Catholic Charities annually
S C O P E O F N E E D
2 Catholic Charities
The Hope to Healing Initiative was launched after we surveyed parish priests, Catholic
schools personnel, and other community partners. We learned that their greatest need is
for a trustworthy Catholic resource for professional counseling. We are uniquely qualified
for this because we are the Church’s social service arm and share the Catholic identity and
values of our sister parishes and schools, and because we have been serving the emotional,
physical, material, and spiritual needs of people in our diocese for nearly 100 years.
"I feel strongly that Catholic Charities through the Hope to Healing Initiative will help ...to build a healthier community for us all.”
Helen Nill
“With the issues facing our fathers, mothers, children and neighbors, this initiative is the sort of loving our diocesan family.”
Paulette Davis
“Our greatest need is for mental-health services for parishioners and their families.”
Fr. Jacob Meyer
B E T H E G I F T O F
HOPE
The Clarion 3
JOIN VOLUNTEER PLEDGE HOSTJoin the Hope to
Healing committee in your county
Offer your time and talent
Make a pledge
Host a Hope to Healing
event
www.ccfwsb.org/hopetohealing
Our Clinical Liaison has met with most parish pastors, built a network of over 100 trusted counselors, and clients have expressed high satisfaction
Hired two full-time therapists - one in Fort Wayne; one in South Bend
We are currently serving 8 Catholic schools
Clinical team has presented to all Catholic school principals
We have created a parent and teacher workshop series (see page 11)
CAMPAIGN RECAP
NEXT STEPS
TEACHER + PARENT
WORKSHOP
EXPAND - Expand our counseling services to other counties
WORKSHOPS - Bring our parent and teacher workshops to more schools and parishes
THERAPISTS - Hire additional therapists
RECRUIT - Recruit new Hope to Healing Initiative Committee members (ideally having representation from each county in the diocese)
ENGAGE - Engage transformational Hope to Healing pledge partners
ALLEVIATING POVERTY
FOOD PANTRIES
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Resource & Referral
MATERIAL ASSISTANCE
Resource & Referral,
Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP),
Christmas Program
MOBILE UNIT
HEALING MIND, BODY & SPIRIT
PREGNANCY COUNSELING/ ADOPTION PLANNING
HEALTH ADVOCACY & SUPPORT Hispanic Health Advocate,
Refugee Health, ECHO in the support for
prenatal and well-baby care
COUNSELING SERVICES (Please go to ccfwsb.org for more details.)
CLINICAL LIAISON TO PARISHES
SERVICES TO SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
RETIRED SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (RSVP)
4 Catholic Charities
Imagine a generation of children free from poverty.
It is a goal we work toward every day, but realizing
our vision is a tall order. Consider:
In 2016, the national child poverty rate sat at 18.0%,
meaning nearly 1 in 5 children under the age of
18 lived in a household below the federal poverty
threshold. In our 14-county diocese, three are well
above the national average:
• Adams – 26.7% of children live in poverty
• Allen – 21.1% of children live in poverty
• St. Joseph – 22.4% of children live in poverty
To put this into perspective, a family of four with an
infant needs to make almost double the minimum
wage per adult to remain self-sufficient:
• Adams – $10.44/hour per adult to be self
sufficient
• Allen – $12.52/hour per adult to be self sufficient
• St. Joseph – $12.90/hour per adult to be self
sufficient
This is why we have launched Generation Zero –
our vision to create the first generation of children
free from poverty. We know that a child’s success
largely depends upon their family’s ability to meet
their needs. At Catholic Charities, we are dedicated
to the two-generation approach, meaning: we first
help parents create a self-sufficient family, which
in turn provides the support the next generation
needs to flourish.
THE FIRST GENERATION OF CHILDREN FREE FROM POVERTY
THIS I S OUR
V I S ION
BUILDING STRONG FUTURES
HELPING TEEN PARENTS GRADUATE Education Creates Hope
& Opportunity (ECHO)
HELPING LOW-INCOME COLLEGE STUDENTS GRADUATE
Stay the Course™
SUPPORTING HEALTHY PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS
Your Journey Together, ECHO
MENTORING YOUTH/HOMEWORK HELP Children of Refugees,
National Youth Mentoring program
LEGAL IMMIGRATION SERVICES
DEVELOPING FINANCIAL SECURITY
BUILDING SKILLS IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
VITA Tax & Financial Literacy Classes
TRAINING AND JOB PLACEMENT FOR SENIORS
Senior Community Services Employment Program (SCSEP)
REFUGEE JOB DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY COLLABORATION Broker system in collaboration
with SCAN, Inc., Lutheran Social Services of IN and Brightpoint
The Clarion 5
In every Catholic Charities program, we work with
our clients to uncover their psychological and
emotional barriers to progress. During their time with
us, we help them conquer their individual challenges
so they can achieve long-term self-sufficiency.
For example, just by helping teen moms graduate
from high school in our ECHO program, they can
increase their earning potential by 37% and save
taxpayers an estimated $292,000 in services over
each person’s lifetime.
Or consider a human-trafficking victim who is
controlled by her dependency on and fear of her
captor. As a result, she often returns to her trafficker
as many as 11 times before finally breaking free. Our
program focuses on helping survivors break these
bonds and re-engage with society.
Our local interagency Family Independence
Cooperative is working to combat the “cliff effect,”
which refers to a family losing its subsidies and
experiencing the resulting financial gaps. For families
dependent on government benefits, this cooperative
addresses those gaps keeping them from self-
sufficiency by helping them overcome temporary
financial barriers.
Studies have shown that by addressing a family’s
challenges today, we will lessen tomorrow’s high-
school-dropout rates, homelessness, and unplanned
pregnancies. At the same time, job retention and
earnings potential rise because we will have already
created the next generation of self-sufficient families.
Because of you, Catholic Charities can address these
social concerns that affect us every day through
our programs. We are all called by the Church to
accompany these people as they work towards self-
sufficiency by healing their mind, body and soul.
T H E B R I D G E T O
SELF-SUFFICIENCYBECAUSE OF YOU, WE CAN OFFER PROGRAMS
AND SERVICES THAT OFFER LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS.
THIS I S OUR
METHOD
CC + YMCA“More than anything, I want the opportunity to work again,”
says Patty Blevins, SCSEP participant at the
Renaissance Pointe YMCA in Fort Wayne.
After being sidelined with a disability several
years ago, Patty feels like she has been given
a second chance with Catholic Charities’
Senior Community Service Employment
Program (SCSEP). After many years of steady
employment at places such as Indiana Bank,
ITT and GTE, Patty is back on her feet and
in training for what she hopes will lead to a
steady job.
SCSEP is the only federal job training program
focused exclusively to provide jobs and
training to low-income older adults 55 and
older. Participants in the program earn $7.25/
hour at their part-time job training placements
at non-profits or government agencies. This
Catholic Charities program currently serves
Adams, Allen DeKalb, Huntington, Wabash,
and Whitley counties.
SCSEP case managers support older adults
by working with them to identify their
unique interests, needs, barriers and overall
employment goals. Participants are supported
in their journey toward employment by being
offered resource and referral services, financial
literacy training, job coaching, job clubs
and job readiness activities such as resume
updating, mock interviews, and job search
assistance.
Patty put a lot of effort into this process
and was therefore matched with a great job
training opportunity at the YMCA.
The YMCA has been an excellent supporter
of this Catholic Charities program. They are
committed to collaborating with Catholic
Charities to provide highly beneficial job
training opportunities as well as employment
assistance to these valuable, loyal and
experienced older adults.
Patty’s immediate supervisor is Graylin
Howard, a long-time YMCA employee and
supervisor of the maintenance department.
Graylin has worked with many SCSEP
participants over the years.
“Patty is excellent,” he says. “She came in with
great work skills, a positive attitude and gets
along well with everybody. She will definitely
have a job as soon as we have an opening.”
Graylin says there are certain benefits to
employers that come with SCSEP participants.
The first is the longevity of the relationship
with Catholic Charities. The SCSEP program
and the YMCA have worked together for
more than 10 years so they have a very good
idea which candidates will work well for their
organization. Graylin also says the year-long
SCSEP job training assignments give him the
opportunity to make a thorough assessment of
each candidate prior to offering a permanent
CATHOLIC CHARITIES AND THE YMCA PARTNERTO REINTRODUCE LOW-INCOME OLDER AMERICA NS BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE THROUGH SCSEP.
PATTY BLEVINS, SCSEP PARTICIPANT AT THE RENAISSANCE POINTE YMCA IN FORT WAYNE
6 Catholic Charities
CC + YMCAposition. “We love to place participants at
organizations like the Y,” says SCSEP Program
Manager Jennifer Zamaites. “And SCSEP is
perfect for people who are recovering from a
setback in their life. Currently, 63% of SCSEP
participants are disabled like Patty. Many are
suffering from depression due to lack of social
interaction or purpose. Giving back to their
community through SCSEP makes a huge
difference. Their job training and ultimately
employment often plays a major part in their
recovery and I urge participants to treat their
job training assignments like a one-year job
interview.”
Once Patty becomes employed, Catholic
Charities will continue to offer ongoing support
for her so she can stay employed.
“[SCSEP] provides the Y with seasoned
professionals who are able to come in and
hit the ground running,” says Amos Norman,
Executive Director of the Renaissance Pointe
YMCA. “We are very grateful that many of the
workers who come from SCSEP already have the
skill sets that allow them to adequately perform
their duties.”
Comparing applicants from SCSEP with others
they interview, Amos says as a rule SCSEP
participants more than meet their many
expectations. He adds that the program has
brought some really outstanding people to join
the Y family.
“Any non-profit that is considering a partnership
with Catholic Charities should absolutely
jump in head first and capitalize on this great
opportunity,” says Amos.
Catholic Charities is always looking for
employers and host nonprofit agencies to take
on SCSEP participants. For more information,
contact Jennifer Zamaites at 260-422-5625 or
email her at [email protected].
CATHOLIC CHARITIES AND THE YMCA PARTNERTO REINTRODUCE LOW-INCOME OLDER AMERICA NS BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE THROUGH SCSEP.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: PATTY BLEVINS, JENNIFER ZAMAITES, AMOS NORMAN, GRAYLIN HOWARD
The Clarion 7
“We just hit the dirt and scrambled for our weapons,”
said Marc Tjaden [pronounced
jay-den], reflecting on the brief
moments of terror that followed a
sudden burst of gunfire.
Marc was serving in the US Army on
his third deployment to Afghanistan.
As a payroll agent, he enjoyed fairly
comfortable circumstances and was
generally removed from anything
remotely dangerous.
That all changed one day when a
disgruntled Afghan soldier burst into
his tiny office and opened fire. Of
the 10 or so people milling around
the small 12-foot by 12-foot building,
two were killed, including his friend
and translator, who had thrown
himself on top of Marc, saving his
life. The Afghan soldier was killed
immediately by Army security forces
just outside the office.
The incident was over in a matter
of seconds, but it left Marc badly
shaken and grieving the loss of
his friend. The psychological and
emotional stress persisted, and he
was officially diagnosed with a case
of post-traumatic-stress disorder
(PTSD). Soon after he retired having
served 40 years in the Army.
Back home in Auburn, Marc decided
to volunteer at the Auburn Cord
Duesenberg Museum, where he was
introduced to the Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP), a
program of Catholic Charities.
Catholic Charities recruits volunteers
55 years and older to serve at non-
profit organizations that need them
most. The program helps seniors
become mentors, coaches, and
companions to people in need. They
also contribute their job skills and
expertise to community projects
and organizations.
marc’s storyRSVP VOLUNTEER OVERCOMES PTSD
8 Catholic Charities
“Older Americans have a
lifetime of experience to share
and the desire to make a real
difference in their community,”
says Shirley Johnson, RSVP
Project Coordinator. “They
have managed households, run
businesses, and been nurses,
farmers, salespeople, artists
and executives. Now they are
ready to put their unique talents
and expertise to work in their
communities, and enrich their own
lives in the process.”
Marc’s volunteerism eventually
led him to the VA Hospital in Fort
Wayne where he helped set up the
Vets Sound Off Board, a suggestion
box that allows veterans to air
grievances and present ideas for
improving services at the VA.
Because of him, the VA recently
instituted valet-parking service,
which has eased the congestion at
the entrance to the building. Also,
the newly added Welcome Center
has greatly improved the experience
of the thousands of veterans who
every year receive care at the VA.
“It feels good when I go back to the
vet and tell him we took care of his
problem,” says Marc, who spends 20
to 30 hours a week at the VA.
Most recently Marc received what
he describes as his highest honor,
being asked to lead a vet-to-vet
support group at a nursing home in
Marion. He says fellow vets discuss
their experiences and, if they want,
are referred to professional mental-
health counselors.
“Being asked to facilitate a PTSD
group is a great honor,” says Marc.
“Of course, one of the people who
benefits the most is me."
RSVP volunteers have the flexibility
to choose how they want to give
back to their community. They
may volunteer only a few hours a
week or as many as 40. There are
opportunities available at numerous
sites around northeast Indiana.
To learn more about volunteer
opportunities, email Shirley Johnson
or call 260-925-0917.
"Watching others come to terms with fears and anxiety has been a great gift.”
– Marc Tjaden
The Clarion 9
Andrew is our newest addition at
Catholic Charities. A native of South
Bend, he now puts his talents to work as
the North Region Director in our Auburn
office. Andrew has had a diverse career
serving as a priest in the Greek Orthodox
Church for over 12 years and later as the
owner of a successful fitness business.
While pastoring, Andrew developed a strong
sense of devotion for those in need. In fact,
one of his favorite quotes is from St. Theresa
of Kolkata:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can
do small things with great love.”
Through this experience, he acquired a deep appreciation for the work of Catholic
Charities because we “uphold human dignity and promote human development.”
Andrew and his wife, Sophia, have one daughter and they enjoy traveling and
spending time together as a family. Welcome Andrew!
MEET
ANDREW WALSH
Link Your Customer Rewards Card And Help Catholic Charities! Just Go To Kroger’s Community Rewards Program Page Online And Select Catholic Charities Of The Diocese Ft Wayne-SB, Inc Either By Name Or Bv651.
A New Way To Help Catholic Charities At Kroger:
MAKE YOUR AMAZON SMILE charity of choice Catholic Charities
and we will receive .5% of your purchase without any greater cost to you.
Simply go to the following link and make us your charity of choice:
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/35-1038653
NEW WAYS TO GIVE TO CATHOLIC CHARITIES
10 Catholic Charities
Our parish priests tell us their greatest need is assistance with mental-health-
related issues in their parishes and schools. To help meet this need, our certified
counselors can share the latest information with teachers and parents on:
mental-health workshops
OUR WORKSHOPS ARE FREE
and open to any Catholic parish or
school in our 14-county area. For more
information, call Ms. Mel Borton at
Catholic Charities to schedule your
workshop at 260-422-5625 x236,
or email at [email protected].
For more about the mental-health needs
of our diocese, please see page two.
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Marriage and family
• Social Media
• Bullying
• Suicide
CATHOLIC CHARITIES NOW OFFERS SCHOOLS AND PARISHES
The Clarion 11
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