Staff and volunteers from the 168 Catholic Charities across the country are there when their communities need them. Through empty cupboards, natural disasters, housing shortages – all the ups and downs of life – they serve people like you. Catholic Charities are making a difference for neighbors in need because We Are There (WeAreThere.US) is not just words, it’s a promise.
Food serving and cooking classes
Over the past year, the Catholic Charities network has served more than 30 million meals to vulnerable people at risk of hunger – at food banks and congregate dining facilities, in summer and after-school programs for children, and to seniors in affordable housing communities. Food and nutrition programs are often the gateway for clients to be assessed for and receive other necessary services from a Catholic Charities agency.
Many agencies also grow some of the food they serve, as well as teaching clients how to grow food to supplement their meals with healthy fruits and vegetables. For example, Common Earth Gardens, a project of Catholic Charities of Louisville, Inc., works with refugees from Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, among others. More than 450 gardeners grow tomatoes, corn, onions and vegetables on rented plots of approximately 900 square meters on average. The program provides the refugees – many of whom farm in their home countries – with technical support and educational opportunities, all with the aim of helping them acclimatize and become independent. “It’s an identity, it’s a life. A way in which people literally feel rooted in their new homeland,” says program director Jane Evans.
Providing peace after the storm
In any given year, the Catholic Charities network responds to dozens of natural and man-made disasters. The CCUSA Disaster Response Team works with local agency staff on the ground to provide what’s needed, whether that’s food, water, tarps and diapers, or temporary housing and emergency funding. Agency staff, often victims of disasters themselves, are there for the long haul, working with their communities long after the news cameras have left, helping their neighbors rebuild their lives even as they may have lost everything.
Floods, tornadoes and hard freezes in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2022 caused the region’s water system to collapse, leaving citizens without drinking water for bathing or cooking and forcing them to switch to bottled water indefinitely. CCUSA and Catholic Charities Jackson, Inc., jumped into action. The result? Distribution of more than 7,500 bottles of water, as well as cases of gallon water jugs, tap water filters, canned and boxed foods that require no water to prepare, sanitizer and mops, wipes, dry shampoo and other personal hygiene items. The supplies went out almost as soon as they arrived, both at the agency – which residents could walk or drive to – and at distribution points throughout the city. Local parishioners collected boxes of water for homebound elderly neighbors, and Good Samaritans routinely delivered water and other goods. Employee Angela Taylor-Grey says, “Going out and making sure you’re trying to meet the needs of the community — that’s really important to me.”
Affordable housing, with dignity
With more than 38,000 units, the Catholic Charities Network is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in the country. As house prices rise and the number of safe, affordable homes falls, more and more people are feeling the pressure. Some of our most vulnerable neighbors – low-wage workers, people with disabilities, the elderly – live in the most untenable situations.
The five-year CCUSA Healthy Housing Initiative (HHI) pilot program is making a difference in the lives of a particularly vulnerable population: people experiencing chronic homelessness. Now in its fourth year, the program has reached 80 percent of its goal, housing 564 formerly chronically homeless individuals and connecting them to primary health care and social services, reducing emergency room use. People like Jason, who lived on the streets and in shelters for more than eight years after being a youth in foster care and group homes, years that were marked by physical and sexual abuse. His only medical support came from regular visits to the nearest emergency room. Jason recently moved into an HHI housing unit and is now comfortably housed. His newfound stability has allowed him to connect with medical and behavioral health providers, which has led to a reduction in his blood pressure and alcohol use. “I’ve found a place where I can leave my shame behind,” he says.
Give, volunteer, support
The Catholic Charities network could not do everything without the dedication of its more than 215,000 volunteers and the many generous donors who support their work. Learn more about how you can play a role in this life-giving work at WeAreThere.US.
