Survey: Catholic Charities served 49,177 people in 2013

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown recently completed the 2013 Catholic Charities USA annual survey.

The survey gathers information on services, collaborative efforts, social-action initiatives, parish relationships, personnel, finances and implementation of mission-related activities from Catholic Charities organizations across the United States.

Five participating institutions in the diocese were: Catholic Charities administrative office located in the diocesan chancery, Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities, Catholic Charities of Ashtabula County, Catholic Charities Serving Portage and Stark counties and Catholic Charities Regional Agency, serving Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Catholic Charities served 49,177 people in 2013. Sixty-seven percent received some type of public assistance, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. Seventy-one percent reported incomes below the federal poverty line, which was $23,550 for a family of four last year.

Catholic Charities agencies provided nearly $900,000 in direct assistance to clients in 2013, plus an additional $1.8 million in pass-through funds to clients from grants and contracts with government entities and other direct-assistance money from both diocesan and local sources.

Ninety-one percent of Catholic Charities’ budget of $7.9 million is devoted to programs that meet basic human needs, strengthen families, build communities, and empower low-income people. Nine percent of Catholic Charities’ operating budget is used for administration, including fundraising for its programs and services.

The majority of those served at Catholic Charities agencies in the diocese receive emergency assistance. In 2013, Catholic Charities provided help with food, utilities, prescriptions, clothing, housing and other basic needs to 24,384 unduplicated clients, an increase of 17 percent over 2012.

An additional 6,952 clients accessed First Step Pregnancy and Family Support programs, which provide specific material assistance and case-management services to pregnant women and families with children from newborns to age 3.

Over the past several years, Catholic Charities has seen a steady increase in the number of people receiving food assistance at its agencies.

Mary Ellen Andersen, president and chief executive officer of Youngstown Catholic Charities Corp., identified a reason for the increase in need for food. She said the diocese began to see an “increasing number of families whose SNAP benefits had been cut. They were no longer able to make it through the entire month and needed us to help them get through the last week or two.”

Catholic Charities has also responded to the increase in need for food by launching some new approaches to dealing with hunger.

On-site food pantries in several of Catholic Charities’ locations make food readily available for client families who come to the agencies presenting a lack of food in their households. Catholic Charities also has initiated outreach efforts to provide information on smart grocery shopping, cooking, and nutrition, along with healthy recipes to give families ideas on how to stretch food resources and meet nutritional needs.

Catholic Charities also offers services to help older adults obtain basic needs and critical services. Last year, 2,548 older adults accessed Catholic Charities’ services.

Catholic Charities Regional Agency’s senior-support program, which helps older adults with such tasks as grocery shopping, banking, medical appointments, accessing community resources, friendly visitation and assistance with Medicare forms, served 540 people in 2013. The regional agency’s Senior Center in East Liverpool served 14,365 on-site and home-delivered meals to 276 older adults last year.

Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities provided assistance to135 people last year. Ninety-nine people received permanent housing at Eastwood Village, an apartment complex on Youngstown’s East Side sponsored by Caritas Communities, a partnership between CCHO and Humility of Mary Housing Inc.

CCHO rented four homes to low-income families in Youngstown and provided 28 households with down-payment assistance in 2013. The Catholic Charities social-service agencies offered housing counseling to 756 people, an increase of 15 percent over last year.

The lack of permanent housing options for low-income individuals and families continues to be a concern for Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services, accredited by the Bureau of Immigration Appeal since 2006, provides family-based immigration assistance to those who wish to obtain legal status in the United States, either for themselves or for their relatives.

In 2013, Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services helped 120 people with citizenship applications, family-visa petitions, removal proceedings and legal representation.

Catholic Charities’ programs throughout the diocese were delivered by a staff of 62 full-time and 30 part-time employees serving 10 locations. Contributing more than 15,000 hours were 137 volunteers. An additional 43 people served on agency boards of directors.

Catholic Charities USA Annual Survey also collects information on Catholic Charities’ efforts to enhance Catholic identity, build and maintain parish relationships and promote diversity.

Brian Corbin is executive director of Catholic Charities Services and Health Affairs.

A primary source of funding for Catholic Charities is the annual Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church. Sixty-six percent of every dollar raised in this campaign supports Catholic Charities’ programs and services in the six-county diocese.