Catholic Charities in Youngstown diocese served 33,645 people in 2015

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

With its 10 locations and 20 programs, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown served 33,645 people in 2015.

The 2015 Catholic Charities USA annual survey recently was completed.

The survey gathers information on programs, services, collaborative efforts, social-action initiatives, parish relationships, finances, personnel, volunteers and implementation of mission-related activities.

Five institutions in the Diocese of Youngstown participated: the Catholic Charities administrative offices in the diocesan chancery, including Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services; Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities; Catholic Charities of Ashtabula County; Catholic Charities Serving Portage and Stark Counties; and Catholic Charities Regional Agency, which serves Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

All of the charities’ services were delivered by a staff of 57 full-time and 23 part-time employees, a decrease of five full-time staff members from 2014. One hundred twenty-three volunteers contributed 12,900 hours of service last year, and an additional 35 people served on agency boards of directors.

The most significant diocesan fundraising endeavor is the annual Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church. This yearly campaign is conducted in all diocesan parishes.

Eighty-seven percent of Catholic Charities’ clients reported incomes below the federal poverty line, which was $24,250 for a family of four last year. Eighty-three percent of clients served qualified for some type of public assistance.

Agencies in the diocese provided more than $840,000 in direct assistance to clients in 2015, plus an additional $1.8 million in pass-through funds to clients from grants and contracts with government entities and direct assistance monies from both diocesan and local sources.

Eighty-nine percent of the charities’ 2015 total budget was devoted to programs that meet basic needs and empower low-income people. Eleven percent of the budget was used for administration and fundraising.

Emergency assistance with food, utilities, prescriptions, clothing, rent and other needs remains the top priority. In 2015, the charities served 12,958 unduplicated households in its emergency- assistance programs. Help with food remains the greatest emergency need for the third consecutive year. The number of people benefitting from food vouchers and on-site food pantries in 2015 was 13,673, a figure consistent with 2014. More than 12,000 bags/boxes of food were provided to client households.

Services to stabilize housing are a priority. In 2015, more than 2,000 people benefited from rental assistance, housing and foreclosure counseling, housing search and case management. Through grant funding, Catholic Charities provided 1,852 rental- assistance payments totaling $472,140 to help client families stay in their homes. Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities rented four homes in Youngstown to low-income families with children. The organization also offered down-payment assistance to 12 first-time home buyers, and provided 423 people with financial literacy services.

In the fall of 2015, Project Assisi was launched to provide support and resources to a targeted group of clients with the potential to successfully transition out of a serious, but temporary, financial setback or out of poverty.

In other programming areas, 2,314 households were served through the First Step Pregnancy and Family Support Program last year. Operating in all six counties of the diocese, First Step provides case management and material assistance – food, formula, diapers and other baby essentials – to pregnant women and families with children from babies to 3-year-olds.

Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services 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 2015, Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services helped 152 people with citizenship applications, family visa petitions, removal proceedings and legal representation for other matters.