Charities USA Magazine: Winter 2013

7/29/2019 Charities USA Magazine: Winter 2013

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THE MAGAZINE OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA WINTER 2013 VOLUME 40 NUMBER 1

OUR RESPONSE TO

SANDYHUMANNEEDS&GOVERNMENT

NEW ALLIANCE WITH

NOTREDAME

THE NATIONSTRENGTHENING

THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES NETWORK


2/48

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Catholic Charities agency employees can subscribe to

Charities USA magazine or $25.

Subscribe online at www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org.

FeaturearticlesontheworkofCatholicCharities

Povertyreductionsuccessstories

UpdatesonCCUSAslegislativeandpolicywork

NewsfromCCUSAandmemberagencies

Andsomuchmore!

Charities USAisthequarterlymagazine

ofCatholicCharitiesUSA.Ineachissue,

youllnd:

MARK YOUR CALENDARSnow or the 2013 CCUSA Annual Gathering in San Francisco, Sept. 15-17.

JOIN US AS WE CONTINUE BUILDING BRIDGES TO OPPORTUNITY.

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THE MAGAZINE OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA


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Charities USA (ISSN 0364-0760) is

published by Catholic Charities USA.

Address all correspondence to the Managing

Editor. 2013 Catholic Charities USA,

Alexandria, Virginia.

Editorial and Business Ofce

2050 Ballenger Avenue, Suite 400

Alexandria, VA 22314

tel:703-549-1390 ax:703-549-4183

www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org

[email protected]

Publisher

Rev. Larry Snyder

Managing Editor

Ruth Liljenquist

Creative Director

Sheena Leaye Crews

Contributing Writers

Ruth Liljenquist

Patricia Pincus Cole

Editorial Committee

Jean Beil

Kristan Schlichte

Rachel Lustig

Candy Hill

Jane Stenson

Catholic Charities USA is the National Ofce or one

o the nations largest social service networks. Member

agencies and institutions nationwide provide vital so-

cial services to over 10 million people in need, regard-

less o their religious, social, or economic backgrounds.

Catholic Charities USA supports and enhances the

work o its members by providing networking opportuni-

ties, national advocacy, program development, training

and consulting, and fnancial benefts.

Donate Now: 1-800-919-9338

Last Issue: FALL 2012

Ihope youvenoticedtheprogressionof topicsin the last fewissues

ofCharities USA.Inexploringthevalueweprovideasanetwork,we

showedintheSummer2012issuehowCatholicCharitieschangesin-

dividuallivesandthenintheFall2012issuehowwebuildcommuni -

ties.Inthisissue,wetakethatprogressionthelaststep,lookingathowwestrengthenthenation.

Ournetworkservesover10millionpeopleayear,thevastmajorityof

whomareimpactedbypoverty.With46millionpeopleinpovertyin

America,thatmeansweserveroughlyoneinfour.Whenyouservethat

largeapercentageofpeoplewhoarepoor,youhaveanationwideimpact.

Andnot justinthenumberofpeopleyouserve,butalsoinhowyou

impacttheissuesthatsurroundthepeopleandtheservices.

isisadynamictimeforCatholicCharities.epovertycampaignhas

reallypushedournetworkdownachallengingpath,butarewardingone

fullofpotentialthatistakingustonewplaces.isissueexploreswhere

weare goingas anetwork,andhowweare strengtheningournationinthisjourney.Inthisissue,welookathowweareimplementingbest

practices,innovativeprograms,andsmarter,moreeectiveapproaches

throughoutournetworktohelpmorepeopleovercomepoverty.Wealso

lookatournationaladvocacystrategygoingforward,asweenteranim -

portantalliancewiththeUniversityofNotreDamethatwillsignicant -

lystrengthenoureortstoreducepovertyandadvocateforreform.We

alsolookattheCatholicsocialteachingthatisthefoundationforour

partnershipwithgovernmentinrespondingtotheneedsofthepoorand

workingforthecommongood.

Allthiseortboilsdowntoasimpleequation:byreducingpoverty,we

arestrengtheningthenation.Andheavenknows,ournationneedsit. n

Ruth Liljenquist, Managing Editor

To comment on this issue, please write to Ruth Liljenquist

at [email protected].

StrengtheningtheNation


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7 StrengtheningtheNation Te Collective Work o Catholic Charities

8 DoingBusinessDierently

How Catholic Charities Has Changed Service Delivery to Reduce Poverty

10 FromLocaltoNational

Elevating Best Practices or Nationwide Impact

14 eWayForward

Pursuing Our Poverty Reduction Priorities through Advocacy and Research

16 AnAlliancetoReducePoverty

wo Presidents Discuss a New Partnership between CCUSA and Notre Dame

20 eLabforEconomicOpportunitiesA Domestic Poverty Research Center Dedicated to Finding What Works

23 CatholicSocialTeaching,HumanNeed,andtheRoleoftheState

29 AankYoutooseWhoSupportCatholicCharitiesUSA

Antoinette Calta

30 SurvivingSandy

CCUSA and Local Agencies Ofer Relie ater a Superstorms Destruction

Features

5 PresidentsColumn

36 CCUSAUpdate

38 NewsNotes

44 WorkingtoReducePovertyinAmerica

Departments

8

14

44

7 Contents


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4 | CHARITIES USA


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WINTER 2013 | 5

ThepovertyreportreleasedbytheCensusBureau

lastfallindicatedthat46millionAmericansarelivinginpoverty,roughlythesamenumberasin

2010butstillmuchhigherthanbeforethe2008

nancialcrisisandrecession began.isnumbergives us

greatpause.Ourgoalistoreducepoverty,andthingshave

goneinthewrongdirection.

Atsuchatime,itischallengingtoknowhowbesttouseour

energyandresources.Ontheonehand,providingandpre -

servingvitalservicessuchasfood,housing,healthcare,and

jobtrainingis critical,becausewithout themmanypeople

wouldhavenowhereelse toturn.Ontheotherhand,thesafetynetsystemthatweoperateinisnotdesignedtoac -

tuallygetpeopleoutofpovertyandenablethemtothrive.

Accomplishingthesegoalsmeansreimaginingand redesign-

ingoursafetynetthattrapspeopleintoaladderthatlifts

peopleoutofpoverty.

Itisessentialthatwecommitourselvestobotheorts.We

mustmeettheurgentneedweseearoundus,butwemust

alsobeboldinimaginingafuturewherethoseinneedhave

theopportunitytolivewithdignitybyachievingsustainable

self-reliance.

DuringourCentennialyearandwithyourideasandfeed-

back,wedevelopedaboldpovertyreductionplanthaten-

tailedreformingourservicedeliverysystems,engagingbusi-

nessinanewway,andfocusingonresultsthatmovepeople

outofpoverty.

Asanetwork,wehaveworkedtowardeachof thesestrate-

gies.Wehaveadvocatedforreformofourfederalsafetynet

system,whichwasdesignedsome50yearsagoandissimply

notuptothetaskofreducing21stcenturypoverty.Wehavealsoworkedtochangethesystemswithinouragencies,im -

plementing smarter andmoreeectiveapproaches to the

wayweserve.

Onthebusinessfront,wehavetappedintothecreativityand

market-basedpracticesoftheprivatesectortostrengthenour

work.Severalagencieshavedevelopedsocialenterprisesthat

areliftingtheirclientsoutofpovertywhilecreatingnewrev-

enuestreams.

Andinfocusingonresults,wehavenotonlybeguntoeval-

uate our programsbyhow successful they are in leading

peopleoutofpoverty,butwehaveenteredintoanexciting

alliancewiththeUniversityofNotreDametoproducesub-

stantive,independentresearchonourwork.enewLabfor

EconomicOpportunitiesatNotreDameforexamplewill

helpusidentifytheverybestpovertyreductionprograms

throughrigorousacademicmethods.

Incallingforabetterplanforservingthepoor,wehavenot

takenaneasypath,butwehavenochoice.estatusquo

issimplynotacceptable.Ourgoalistransformation,rooted

intheGospelmandateofbuildingupthekingdomofGod;

ofbuildingasocietyandworldbasedonthevaluesinherent

andexplicitinourfaith.Wearenotsimplysocialworkers.

WearecalledtobethehandsofChristinourworldtoday

andweeagerlyandwithgreatconvictionanswerthatcallin

theworkwedoeveryday.

ColumnPresidents


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6 | CHARITIES USA


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WINTER 2013 | 7

In1972,theNationalConferenceofCatholicCharities,

nowCatholicCharitiesUSA,publishedadocumentthat

establishedanewframeworkfortheworkofCatholicCharities.isdocument,oward a Renewed Catholic

Charities Movement,whichcametobeknownsimplyastheCadre

Study,articulatedthreemissionsthatwoulddenethefuturefor

CatholicCharitiestoserve,toadvocate,andtoconvene.Itdid

sowiththearmationthatCatholicCharitieswasanationwide

network,andthatitcouldimpactsocietyandournationinpro-

foundwaysthroughthesemissions.

Fortyyearslater,weasanetworkarefulllingthevisionofthe

CadreStudy,serving,advocating,andconveninginwaysthat

strengthenoursocietyandnation.isworkhappensthrough

theinterchangeoflocalandnationaleorts.

Weservelocally,incommunities,withpeopleandpartners,but

thatworkhasimpactnationally,aswecometogethertoshareand

implementnewapproachesandprovenpracticesthatproduce

betteroutcomesforthepeoplewhocometousforhelp.

Weadvocateinourlocalcommunities,bringingourexperience

andmoralvoicetobearonmattersthataectindividuals,fami-

lies,andcommunities.Withthesestrengthsasafoundation,we

alsoadvocatenationally,bringingtogetherourcollectiveexperi-

enceandauniednationalvoicetoimpactpoliciesthataectthe

peopleweserve,primarilythepoor.

Weconvenepartnersacrossthestreetandacrossthenation,call-

ingonpeopleandorganizationsofgoodwilleverywheretobring

theirownstrengthsandcometogetherwithustosolvethemost

dicultchallengeswefaceasasocietyandnation.

InthisissueofCharities USA,weexploreournationalimpact,

lookingathowwearechangingthewayweserveandelevating

bestpractices,howwearepushingforwardthemessagetoreform

ournationssafetynetprograms,andhowwearejoiningwitha

pre-eminentCatholicuniversitytoreducepoverty. n

STRENGTHENINGTHE NATION

THE COLLECTIVE WORK OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES


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Witha gridlockedCongress, increasingly frequent

natural disasters, and horric gun violence, its

plaintoseethatournationfacesmanychalleng-

es,nowandinthefuture.Oneofthesechallenges,perhaps

lessvisibleatthemomentbutnolessserious,ispoverty.For

the46.2millionAmericansforwhommeetingbasicneeds

isadailytrial,ndingsolutionstothischallengeiscritical.

CatholicCharitiesagencieshavebeensearchingforcreative

solutions, andthe resultshave changed theway we serve.

Acrossthenation,wearehavinga signicantimpactaswe

dobusinessdierently, embracing thefollowing approach-

es,whicharehelpingtoaddresstheongoingchallengeof

poverty.

Client-Centered

isconceptismostcloselyassociatedwiththetypeofcoun -

selingpromotedbyCarlRogersinthesecondhalfofthe

last century.While Catholic Charities client-centered ser-

vicesarenot explicitly basedonRogerianprinciples,they

shareafoundationalbeliefinthedignityandvalueofthe

humanperson.Client-centeredservicerequiresprofoundre-

spectandappreciation fortheindividualandhis/herexpe-

rience.Itismotivatedbytheassumptionthatpeopletend

naturallytomovetowardgrowthandhealingandhavethe

capacitytondtheirownanswerstotheirchallenges.Inthe

social service setting, client-centered service means listen-

ingtotheneedsandproposedsolutionsoftheclientrather

thantryingtoapplya one-sizetsallmethodology.Itis

practicedthroughcasemanagementthatfacilitatesandem -

powers rather than dictates and enables.While Catholic

Charities agencies strugglewithmeeting the needs of cli-

entswithinprogrameligibilityrequirements,wecontinueto

advocatefortheopportunitytocraftaserviceplanthatre-

spondstotheaspirationsoftheindividualsandfamiliesthat

cometousforassistance.

8 | CHARITIES USA

DOING BUSINESS

DIFFERENTLYHOW CATHOLIC CHARITIES HAS CHANGED SERVICE DELIVERY TO REDUCE POVERTY

By Jean Beil


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Integrated

isqualityofCatholicCharitiesservicedeliveryisdescrip-

tivenotonlyofhowweapproacheachindividualclient,but

alsoofhowweorganizethevariouscomponentsofourser -

vicestoconsumers.Itdescribesaninclusiveapproach,which

couldalternativelybecharacterizedasholistic.Itisanatti-

tudethatregardseachpersonasmorethanaparticularprob-

lemtobesolvedoraneedtobelled.Holisticpracticesare

concernedwiththepersonsentirewellbeinghis/herphys-

ical,emotional,spiritual,mental,andsocialcondition.e

beautyofbeingamulti-serviceorganizationisthatwecan

maketheconnections,integratingserviceswithinouragen-

cies to serve thewhole person.To support this approach,

agenciesroutinelyutilize integratedintakeandclientman-

agementsystemstofacilitateconsolidatedserviceplanning

andrecordkeeping.

Outcomes-Driven

Sir Winston Churchill once said, However beautiful

the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

Evidence-basedpracticehasbeencalledthenewholygrail

of social work. Programproposals predicting desired out-

comesarenowexpectedwithgrantapplications,andnopro-

gramthatcantmeasureandanalyzeitsperformancehasa

right to expect future funding. But becoming outcomes-

drivenmustspringfromamotivationdeeperthanmaintain-

inganagencysscalviability.eprimarypurposeofout -

comes-informed evidence-based practice isto improvethe

wellbeingofthe client.Outcomes-basedpracticerequiresa

combinationofteamwork,continuousqualityimprovement,

andprocessandoutcomemeasurement.eoutcomes-driv-

en practitioner focuses on fundamental changes that are

mostlikelytoproducepositivelong-termgains.

Partnership-Oriented

Notevenmulti-serviceorganizationslikeCatholicCharities

canexpecttoprovideeveryresourceorserviceneededfor

anindividualorfamilytoreachitsgoals.Onlybycreating

synergiesthroughcollaborationwithgovernmentatalllevels,

other community-based organizations, corporations, and

thephilanthropicsectorcananagencydothemostgood.

roughwell-developedandmaintainedpartnerships,each

entitycanconcentrateonitscorecompetenceswhilereach-

ing beyond its boundaries to access the assistance clients

needandrequest.

Sustainable

epastseveralyearsofscaluncertaintyhavebeenenough

tomove non-prots from talking about sustainability to

reallydoingsomethingtoensureit.Whilestillseekingto

provideassistancetothoseinneedbyaccessinggovernment-

fundedprogramsandcontinuingtorelyondonorstosup-

port thosewho are not eligible for suchprograms, anin-

creasingnumberofCatholicCharitiesagenciesareenteringtherealmofsocialenterprise.isstrategyisparticularlyef-

fectiveinendeavorsdesignedtoassistpeopleintheireorts

tomoveoutofpoverty.MembersoftheCatholicCharities

networkareatanadvantageinsofarastheycanseektheas-

sistanceoftheircolleaguesacrossthenationinresearching

anddevelopingbusinessstrategiestohelpthemachievetheir

missionandsustaintheirwork.

Focused on Families and Communities

Catholic Charities focus on strengthening families and

buildingcommunitieshasdevelopedoutoftheholisticinte-

gratedapproachtoservingindividuals.Humandevelopment

neverhappensinavacuum,soconcentratingonstrengthen-

ingfamiliesandbuildingcommunitieshastheeectofen-

hancingthepossibilitiesforeveryone.Abetterfutureforour

countryisdependentonthehealthandgrowthofourchil -

dren.eirabilitytothriveisonlyassurediftheyaresur -

roundedbyastrongfamilyandarobustsupportsystemina

vibrantneighborhood.n

Jean Beil is Catholic Charities USAs senior vice president or

programs and services.

For the 46.2 million Americans or whom

meeting basic needs is a daily trial, fnding

solutions to this challenge is critical.

WINTER 2013 | 9


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One of the ways the Catholic Charities network

strengthenssocietyandthenationisbyrecognizing

smart,eective,andinnovativepracticesatthelocal

levelandelevatingthemtoanationalforum,wheretheycan

be sharedwidely for possible replicationnationwide.e

partnership between localCatholicCharities agenciesand

CatholicCharitiesUSA(CCUSA)makesthispossible.

CatholicCharitiesUSAsFamilyStrengtheningAwardspro -

gram,whichwasfundedbytheAnnieE.CaseyFoundation,is a prime example of this process.From2005 to 2011,

CCUSAevaluatedmorethan100CatholicCharitiespro-

gramsthatimplementthefamilystrengtheningmodel,abest

practiceinservingvulnerablechildrenandfamilies.CCUSA

recognized 22 agencies for their outstandingwork in this

eld,andtheseagencieshostedsitevisitsfortheirCatholic

Charitiescolleaguesacrossthenation,showcasingtheirpro-

grams and giving their colleagues ideas and resources to

take back to theirown agencies.rough thismulti-year

awardsprogram,thefamilystrengtheningmodelhasbeen

implementedatCatholicCharitiesagenciesthroughoutthe

nation,notonlyasaservicemodelbutalsoasanorganizing

frameworkforagencyservices.

e Catholic Charities network elevates best practices

throughotherforumssuchasnationalandregionalmeet-

ings,professionalinterestsections,trainings,andwebinars.

rough these opportunities, facilitatedbyCCUSA, localagenciessharetheirideas,experience,andexpertisewiththe

entirenetwork.Withbestpracticeselevatedthroughoutthe

network,localworkhasnationalimpactforthebenetof

families,communities,andthenation.

Sowhat are someofthese bestpractices?ey fall into a

numberofbroadcategories,afewofwhichwepresenthere.

10 | CHARITIES USA

FROM LOCAL TO NATIONALELEVATING BEST PRACTICES FOR NATIONWIDE IMPACT


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WINTER 2013 | 11

FAMILY-FOCUSED SERVICES ASSET DEVELOPMENT

When amilies are strong and stable, everyone in the amily

does better and the community benefts. That is the prem-

ise that amily-ocused services are built on. In the past,

social services have oten ocused on children, but it has

become clear that services to children are not as eec-

tive when the amily is weakened by any number o chal-

lenges. Family strengthening as a best practice helps ami-

lies identiy the areas in which they need strengthening and

matches them with appropriate services, which may includecounseling; parenting, marriage, and healthy relationships

classes; substance abuse intervention; asset development;

job development; language instruction; health care, and

other services. Family preservation as a child welare best

practice helps amilies remain intact through intensive ser-

vices to improve parenting and amily unctioning. Other

amily-ocused services such as amily literacy and paren-

tal education programs help both parents and children take

better advantage o educational opportunities.

When amilies know how to manage money and access the

fnancial system, they are better able to maintain fnancial

stability and build assets. Asset development encompass-

es a number o dierent services that help amilies improve

their fnancial situations: fnancial education, debt man-

agement and credit repair, money management, individu-

al development accounts (matched savings accounts), tax

preparation services, microloans, business development,

homebuyer education, oreclosure counseling, and otherservices. Families, even those with very low incomes, are

able to improve their fnancial situations when they active-

ly engage in asset development programs. Asset develop-

ment as a poverty reduction strategy is spreading through-

out the Catholic Charities network, with a high number o

agencies building into their core services some aspect o

asset development.

The Reugee Assistance & Immigration Services program o Catholic Social

Services in Anchorage, AK, not only resettles reugees, but helps reugee

amilies achieve sustainable sel-reliance so that the amilys basic needs

are ully met on a long-term basis. The program oers a wide range o

bilingual and bicultural services including case management, lie skills

orientation, and job readiness classes.

Catholic Community Services o Southern Arizonas Pio Decimo Center

oers a range o asset development services, including fnancial

education, housing counseling, ree tax preparation, and individual

development accounts. The center recently began a micro-enterprise loan

program to help people develop or strengthen their small businesses.


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FOOD SERVICES AS A SERVICE GATEWAY MENTORING

When people come to Catholic Charities ood pantries and

soup kitchens or ood, it usually indicates that they are

acing signifcant challenges, which may include unem-

ployment or underemployment, health problems, disabil-

ity, amily emergencies, or other issues. Because amilies

may be reluctant to seek services otherwise, many Catholic

Charities agencies have retooled their ood distribution ser-

vices so that they can assess peoples needs and oer ser-

vices that can help them, such as employment assistance,mental health services, budgeting instruction, or enrollment

in public beneft programs. Food distribution thereby be-

comes a gateway to vital services that can help individu-

als and amilies become stable and strong. Some agencies

have also added value to their ood distribution programs

by providing nutrition education, cooking classes, and ex-

panded ood choices that promote healthy eating.

People trying to leave poverty encounter a number o chal-

lenges, not the least o which is the lack o a support-

ive person or network o people to turn to or inormation,

advice, encouragement, and assistance. Moving out o pov-

erty oten entails embracing new values, behaviors, and

even relationships, and without a supportive role model, it

is easy or a person to go back to old patterns. Mentoring

has proven to be a critical component in successul anti-

poverty programs. Agency case workers oten act as men-tors, but trained volunteers increasingly fll this role, ex-

tending the reach o the agency and expanding the support

system. Several agencies have designed innovative anti-

poverty programs in which mentoring plays a central role. In

each case, a small group o volunteers is matched with an

individual or amily who is motivated to improve their lives.

Over a one to two year period, the mentors help the indi-

vidual or amily achieve specifc goals, providing support

through regular meetings and at other times as needed.

Our Daily Bread Employment Center, operated by Catholic Charities in

Baltimore, provides daily meals to the areas homeless and hungry. Ater

people enjoy a meal, they are met by a riendly associate who oers the

centers employment services.

Through the Family to Family Partnership o Catholic Charities in Oakland,

CA, a group o amilies rom parishes in the Oakland Diocese are matched

with a amily working towards sel-sufciency. The team o amilies

provides mentoring and support or 18 months, helping the amily take

crucial steps in their journey to stability and success.

12 | CHARITIES USA


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SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CASE MANAGEMENT

Social enterprise is reshaping the or-proft and nonproft

worlds as humanitarian entrepreneurs design businesses to

harness the resources o the market to provide social ben-

eft as well as proft. Social service agencies like Catholic

Charities use social enterprises to beneft their consum-

ers, while also generating reliable revenue streams to und

their other vital services, a boon to agencies that are chron-

ically underunded. Most social enterprises run by Catholic

Charities agencies provide job training, employment, and/or income generating opportunities or their consumers

who ace barriers to employment. In some cases, Catholic

Charities agencies have developed these enterprises be-

cause there are ew resources in the community to pro-

vide this kind o beneft or their consumers. While social

enterprise is a new direction or Catholic Charities and the

number o agencies operating social enterprises is relatively

small, more and more agencies are looking or ways to im-

plement this innovative and benefcial strategy.

Case management has long been used in health care to

make sure that patients receive the care they need while

preventing unnecessary or duplicative services. This prac-

tice has made the jump to disaster response and social

services, proving eective in helping people recover rom

natural disasters as well as rom the man-made disaster o

poverty. A case manager assesses the amilys needs, de-

velops with them a service plan that meets both short-term

and long-term needs, and then coordinates services. Casemanagement or poverty reduction services is not typical-

ly unded, making it difcult or agencies to provide this

service to everyone experiencing poverty, but case man-

agement has proven to signifcantly impact the outcome

o poverty reduction services, so much so that CCUSA has

given it a central role in its broad poverty reduction strategy.

While case management is available to people who qualiy

or certain programs, agencies are working to make it avail-

able to all who come to them or assistance.n

Oering language translation and interpretation services, Catholic Charities

Fort Worths Translation and Interpretation Network bridges the language

gaps between all kinds o service providers and their clients, patients,

or students in the diverse Fort Worth community. The enterprise trains

bilingual reugees to be certifed interpreters and translators and employs

them in the enterprise.

In 2011, Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) convened a group o the

networks most experienced case managers to discuss how case

management could be used more eectively to help people move out o

poverty. CCUSA has incorporated their input into the National Opportunity

and Community Renewal Act, CCUSAs blueprint or reorm o our nations

poverty services system, and encouraged agencies to urther develop their

case management capacity.

WINTER 2013 | 13


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AttheheartofCatholicCharitiesUSAs(CCUSA)

deephistoryaretheadvocacyeortsinsupport

oftheleastamongus.Since1910,CCUSAhas

servedasanationaladvocateforthemostvulner-

ablepopulations,includingchildren,immigrants,theelderly

andthedisabled.Ourprioritiesareguidedbythebasicbelief

intheinherentdignityofallpeopleandtheresponsibilityof

societytoensurethisisrepresentedinallaspectsofpublicpolicy.Itisourbeliefthatourcountry,throughitspolicies

andfederalbudget,mustdemonstrateaprioritytoattend-

ingtotheneedsofthepoorestandmostvulnerablepersons

insociety.

Sinceitsfounding,CCUSAhasplayedacentralleadership

roleinthedevelopmentandadvocacyofimportantpover-

ty-ghting federal programs andpolicies including Social

Security,Medicare,HeadStart,civilrightsprotection,min-

imumwageprotections,andtheearnedincometaxcredit.

Today,westillworktopreservetheseprogramsandpolicies,

butourultimategoalistotransformournationsoverbur-

denedpovertysafetynetintoatrampolinethathelpspeople

springupoutofpoverty.

ereare,ofcourse,majorchallengestoaccomplishingthis

goalfromapolicystandpoint.Congressisdeeplydivided,

andtherearehugebudgetanddecitcontentionsthatdom-

inateCongressattention.However,CCUSAssocialpolicy

teamcontinuestobuildrelationshipsandisworkingwith

thenewCongress,makingregularvisitstoocesonCapitol

Hilltopushourprioritiesforward.

OneofourmaingoalsinmeetingwithmembersofCongress

istochangetheprevailingunderstandingofthecausesof

andsolutionstopoverty inAmerica,and tocreatemore

14 | CHARITIES USA

THE WAY FORWARDPURSUING OUR POVERTY REDUCTION PRIORITIES THROUGH ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH

By Candy Hill


17/48

informed,reality-based, and less partisan public discoursearoundthisissue.iseortisbeinginformedbysoundre-

searchintothecausesandexacerbatingconditionsofpov-

ertyandalsobythemeasurableoutcomesofpovertyreduc -

tionprogramsthatarealreadyworkinginCatholicCharities

agenciesacrossthecountry.Wearefocusingonwhatworks,

notonpartisanideologies.

Focusingonwhatworksisoneofourmostpowerfultools

for breaking through the partisan divide, and in the last

severalmonthswehaveconsiderablyenhancedourability

toshowwhatactuallydoesworkthroughtheforgingofanewalliancebetweenCCUSAandtheUniversityofNotre

Dame.isallianceisdrivenbyasharedmoralpurposeand

acommonbeliefthathelpingthoseinneedisacoreelement

oftheCatholicfaith.

One facet of this alliance is the Lab for Economic

Opportunities(LEO),aneortthatisbringingNotreDame

economistsandCatholicCharitiesagenciestogethertoiden-

tifythemosteectivepovertyreductionprograms.rough

rigorousresearchmethodsusingdataprovidedbyagencies,

LEOwillbeabletoprovidecredibleandveriableevidence

showingwhichprogramsareeectiveandwhatfactorsmake

themeective.iswillnotonlyprovideagencieswithev-

idence-basedbestpractices,butwillalsostrengthenourad -

vocacypositionandinformourpolicyrecommendations,as

weadvocateforanewwaytoaddresspoverty(seepage20).

Wewillcontinueto advocatefor theprinciplesembedded

in the National Opportunity and Community Renewal

Act (NOCRA),whichwas drafted byCCUSA and intro-

ducedtoCongressin2010bySenatorRobertCaseyand

RepresentativeJimMcGovern.Whilethebillwasnotpassed,

itservedasameansofchangingournationalconversation

aboutpoverty.Indoingso,itinspiredthoughtleaders,non-

protpartners,electedocials, andthe generalpublic to

takecreative,bold,andresults-drivenstepstoaddressthe

underlyingcausesofpovertyinAmerica.

We believe thatwhilewe continueto serve those in need,

wemustbeapartofapermanentsolutiontothelong-term

problemofpoverty,creating equal accesstoopportunitiesthatalloweachpersonto livea lifeofdignity.ecurrent

systemhelpspeoplesurvive,butourgoalistohelpthem

thrive.

eCatholicCharitiesnetworkservesmorethan10million

peopleeachyear,roughlyoneinfourpeoplelivinginpover-

tyorfacingnancialdiculty.eindividualsweserveare

singlemothers,homelessveterans,andhard-workingfathers.

eyarehopefulfamilieslookingtoharnesstheopportuni -

tiesAmericahasalwayspromised.Butsadly,theyarepeople

withoutavoice.eyarepeoplewhohavebeenpushedtothecornersof society, voicesmued anddiscounted.For

over100years,wehavesoundedamoralandcrediblevoice

forthem,callingongovernmenttomakeaddressingtheir

needsapriority,andwewillcontinuetodosonow. n

Candy Hill is senior vice president o social policy and

government afairs or Catholic Charities USA.

One o our main goals in meeting with

members o Congress is to changethe prevailing understanding o the

causes oand solutions topoverty in

America, and to create more inormed,

reality-based, and less partisan public

discourse around this issue.

WINTER 2013 | 15


18/48

16 | CHARITIES USA

AN ALLIANCE TO

REDUCE POVERTYTWO PRESIDENTS DISCUSS A NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CCUSA AND NOTRE DAME

InOctober2012,CatholicCharitiesUSAandtheUniversityofNotreDame

enteredintoastrategicalliancetoreducepovertyinAmerica.eunaccept -

ablerealityof46millionpeoplelivinginpovertyinspiredthetwoinstitu-

tionstoformthisalliance,whichwilltakeamulti-facetedapproachtoreduc-

ingpoverty,asdescribedinamemorandumofunderstandingaboutthealliance.

eAlliancewillstrivetoreducepovertyinAmericathroughrigorousaca-

demicresearchandevaluationofanti-povertyprograms,engagementwith

entrepreneurialandinnovativemindsofthebusinessworldtoidentifypri-

vatesectorsolutions,andinitiativesthatwillinform,throughadvocacyand

educationaloutreach,thedevelopmentofpoliciesthatwillchangetheway

povertyissuesareaddressedintheUnitedStates.eAllianceisdrivenbya

sharedmoralpurposeandacommonbeliefthathelpingthepooranddisen-

franchisedarecoreelementsoftheCatholicfaiththatiscentraltothemis -

sionoftheUniversityofNotreDameandCatholicCharitiesUSA.


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FALL 2012 | 17

Charities USA: Tis is a partnership between a social ser-

vices network and a university. Whats the signicance o

this kind o an alliance in the efort to reduce poverty?

Fr. Snyder:Foralongtime,therehasbeenadivisionbe-

tween academiciansandpractitioners in addressing pover-

ty.Forexample,theNotreDameDepartmentofEconomics

hasbeendoingreallygoodresearchonpoverty,andwevebeendoingreallygoodworkinservingpeopleinpoverty.

Andwerespecteach other,but therehasbeennopartner-

shiptoworktogether,tostrategizeonreducingpoverty,until

now.erearemanythinktanksouttheretryingtosolve

poverty,butnoneofthemarealignedwithpeopleproviding

servicestopeoplewhoarepoor,sothispartnershipwillreally

helpbothofussolidifyourrespectivework,whilebringingit

togetherforgreaterimpact.

Fr. Jenkins:ImsoproudofNotreDamespartnershipwith

CatholicCharitiesUSA. Bybringingtogetheroneof our

nations preeminent social service networks with a great

Catholicuniversity,weareabletoliveoutourmissionof

puttinglearninginservicetojusticebyaddressingtheroot

causesofpovertyinourcountry.AtNotreDame,webelieve

itisourresponsibilityfortheuniversitysresearchandschol-

arshiptoservetheworldbyaddressingissuessuchaspoverty

inournation.AndpartneringwithCatholicCharitiesUSA,

whichhasforsomanyyearsdonesomuchgood,allowsusto

dothisworkinamannerthatwitnessestoourfaith.

Charities USA: Te Alliance has a ew diferent

components. ell us about them.

Lab or Economic Opportunities

Fr. Jenkins:Awonderfuloutgrowthofourpartnershiphas

beentheLabforEconomicOpportunities(LEO),housed

withinNotreDamesDepartmentofEconomics.LEO ap-

pliesrigorous,solutions-orientedresearchtostubbornprob-

lemsfacingthesocialservicecommunityandhelpsCatholic

Charitiesagenciesprovidemoreeectiveprograms.Forex-

ample,scholarsarecurrentlyexamininghowwellfederalnu-

tritionprogramsaimed at needywomen and theirinfant

children are being administered by Catholic Charities in

Chicago.WhileCatholicCharitiesagencieshaveprovento

beextremelyecient,wehopetobeabletocontributeto

improvements which serve theneedy evenmore eective-

ly.NotreDame researchersand their partners fromout-

standinguniversitiesacrossthecountryaretacklingotherissues,suchaspreventinghomelessnessandpromotingjob

readiness.

Fr. Snyder:LEOistherstpovertylabfocusedondomes-

ticpoverty,anditstherstlabtobringtogethereconomists

andsocialserviceproviders.Inthesocialservices,wevenever

beenstrongonresearchanddevelopment,butwithLEOwe

willhave theabilityto evaluateourprograms,and that is

critical.eneedsaregreaterandtheresourcesarefewer,so

wehavetobesurethatourworkiseective.LEOreallyhas

CCUSA President Fr. Larry Snyder and University

o Notre Dame President Fr. John I. Jenkins, CSC,

shared their thoughts on this historic alliance.


20/48

18 | CHARITIES USA

thepotentialforreducingpoverty.Wewillbeabletoserve

moreeectively,butwewillalsobeabletoadvocatemoreef-

fectivelywithresearchstudiesinhandtoshowthatourpro-

gramswork.

The Mendoza College o Business

Fr. Jenkins:Overthepasteightyears,NotreDamesMendoza

College of Business has oered a professional develop-

mentprogramforCatholicCharitiesleaderscalled,From

MissiontoService.Ourgoalwiththisprogramistoassist

Catholic Charities with itsmissionby cultivating in sta

andboardmembersadditionalbusinessandleadershipskills.

esharedCatholiccharacterofNotreDameandCCUSA

allowsforrichlearninginthelightofGospelvalues.Welook

forwardtodeepeningandexpandingthispartnership.

Fr. Snyder:Weveenjoyedawonderfulpartnershipwiththe

MendozaCollege ofBusiness through FromMission to

Service.Wevetaken70agencyexecutive teams toNotre

Damefor thistraining,anditsbuiltupour leadershiptre-

mendously,strengtheningusinCatholicidentityaswellas

inbusinessmanagement.ispartnershipwillcontinue,but

anewaspectofthispartnershipwillbethetraininginsocial

innovation that thebusiness schoolwill oer to agencies.

Agencieswill beabletosendteamstoNotreDame for in-

tensivetraininginsocialinnovationandindevelopingsocial

enterprises.

The Church in Action

Fr. Snyder:WerealsoexcitedaboutwhatwecalltheChurch

inActionaspectofthispartnership.roughNotreDames

alumninetwork,wewillbeabletomakeconnectionswith

alumniinlocalcommunitiesandencouragethemtogetin -

volvedinoureortstoreducepoverty.Wewillalsoworkto

makejobandinternopportunitiesatouragenciesavailable

toNotreDamestudentsandalumni.Weseethisasagood

vehicleforthemtoputtheirvaluesintopractice.

Charities USA: What does this partnership say to the

larger public about poverty reduction?

Fr. Jenkins:Forty-sixmillionAmericansliveinpoverty,and

wecannotwalkbyand ignorethem, as the richmandid

withLazarusintheGospelparable.Ihopethatthispartner-

shipbetweenthesetwogreatCatholicinstitutionsimpress -

esuponallCatholicsandnon-Catholicsalikethatthe

workof justiceis anongoingeort thatrequires thiskind


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WINTER 2013 | 19

ofcollaboration.Asanation,wecanandwemustdobetter.

OurpartnershipshowsthatNotreDamevaluestheoppor-

tunitytoworkwithanagencyoftheU.S.Churchinservice

toGodspoor,forwebelievethatinservingthepoor,we

serveChrist.

Fr. Snyder:ispartnershipfeelslikeaverynaturalthing

todo together. Its a partnership between twoprominent

Catholicorganizations,withcommonprioritiesandvalues,

tobringtogethertremendousresourcestochangethefaceof

povertyinthiscountry.Ofallthethingsweareabout,this

hastobeapriorityforus,toputourfaithintoaction.Butit

shouldntjustbeapriorityforus;itshouldbeapriorityfor

thelargerpublic.

Charities USA: Whats the most exciting thing or you

about this alliance?

Fr. Snyder:LEOisprobablythemostexcitingforme,cer-

tainlythemosttangible.Butthiswillalsobeawonderful

opportunityforNotreDamestudentsandgraduatestoput

theirvaluesintopracticeacrossthecountry.Itsallveryex -

citingandahugeopportunityforNotreDameandCatholic

Charities.

Fr. Jenkins:ItisanopportunityforNotreDametobringfaith andacademicexpertise together inpartnershipwith

a truly admirable organization of the American Church,

CatholicCharitiesUSA,inservicetothepooramongus.

eNotreDamefamilyisgratefulforthisopportunity.We

lookforwardtostrengtheningthispartnershipinthefuture

sothatwecanmorefullyrespondtoChristscalltoservice.n

The Notre Dame amily is grateul or this

opportunity. We look orward to strengthening

this partnership in the uture so that we can

more ully respond to Christs call to service.

Mary Beth OBrien and her amily played an in-

strumental role in orging this new alliance be-

tween CCUSA and Notre Dame. Mary Beth has

strong ties to both institutions and a deep com-

mitment to reducing poverty. Both Fr. Snyder

and Fr. Jenkins had high praise or her and grat-

itude or her role in urthering the partnership

between CCUSA and Notre Dame.

Fr. Snyder:Mary Beth is a remarkable woman

and humanitarian and has worked with us a

great deal. She served as the national presi-

dent o the Ladies o Charity, and as such hada seat on Catholic Charities USAs Board o

Trustees. Through that she became very inter-

ested in our eorts to reduce poverty and was

very supportive o our mission. When we start-

ed talking about broadening our partnership

with Notre Dame, she was a natural participant

in the process.

Fr. Jenkins:Mary Beth is a dear riend and an

inspiration to me. Her late husband, Frank, and

all six o her children are graduates o Notre

Dame, and Frank was a member o our College

o Engineering Advisory Council. Through her

decades o work with the Ladies o Charity,

the International Association o Charities, and

the American Housing Foundation, Mary Beth

has made a real dierence in the lives o so

many people. She has said that we need to

become better voices or the poor, and she

has backed up her words with actions. I was

proud to present her with an honorary degree

at the Notre Dame commencement ceremony

in 2011. Our citation read in part: As an

adolescent soup kitchen volunteer, she became

keenly aware o and prooundly dismayedby the too-easily muted cry o the poor and

has sought to make that cry more audible

through service in numerous church and civic

organizations. I think that accurately sums up

her wonderul lie o service.

Catholic Charities USA expresses deep grati-

tude to Mary Beth and her amily. Thanks to

their generous git CCUSA has established the

OBrien Family Fund, which will support activi-

ties and initiatives associated with the alliance

between CCUSA and Notre Dame. n

CCUSA honored the OBrien amily at the 2012 Annual

Gathering in St. Louis, MO, with an award o appreciation

or contributing to the alliance between CCUSA and the

University o Notre Dame in America.

THANK YOU TOTHE OBRIEN FAMILY


22/48

20 | CHARITIES USA

THE LAB FOR ECONOMICOPPORTUNITIESA DOMESTIC POVERTY RESEARCH CENTER DEDICATED TO FINDING WHAT WORKS

Doesitwork?atquestionhasneverbeenfully

answerable when considering the eectiveness

of a CatholicCharities poverty reduction pro-

gram.Anecdotal evidence and outcomesmea-

surespointtoananswer,butwithouttheevidenceproduced

byacarefullyconductedresearchstudy,thequestionlingers.

ats about to change. A new alliancebetweenCatholic

CharitiesUSA(CCUSA)andtheUniversityofNotreDamehas brought about the Lab for Economic Opportunities

(LEO),aresearchcenteratNotreDamethatisstudyingthe

eectivenessofdomesticpovertyreductionprogramsoered

byCatholicCharitiesagenciesandothersocialandhuman

serviceproviders.

HousedintheDepartmentofEconomicsatNotreDame,

LEO is led by university economists James Sullivan and

WilliamEvans,bothofwhomhavedoneresearchondomes-

ticanti-povertypolicies.eyseeLEOasanexcitingand

ground-breakingopportunitytollinahugevoidofinfor -

mationaboutwhatactuallyworksinreducingpoverty.

Toevaluateprogramsbyserviceproviders,thepeoplewho

actuallyworkdirectlywithpeopleinpoverty,isauniqueop -

portunity.ereisverylittleresearchonwhatworks,and

thereisacriticalneedforit,saidSullivan.

The Birth o an Idea

LEOcameaboutthroughapreviouspartnershipbetween

CCUSAandNotreDametheMissiontoServiceprogram,

aleadershipprogramatNotreDameforCatholicCharities

executives.CCUSAPresidentRev.LarrySnydersdesirefor

further collaboration between CCUSA and Notre Dame

broughtSullivanandEvansintoameetingwithhim.


23/48

WINTER 2013 | 21

HeoutlinedhisvisionforCatholicCharities,thatitneeds

tobemuchmoreproactiveingettingpeopleoutofpover-

ty.enheaskedhoweconomistswouldanswertheprob-

lem,saidEvans.

atquestionledtoadiscussionabouttheneedforresearch

to identifywhat programswork in reducingpoverty.e

twoeconomiststhensketchedoutaroughoutlineforLEO.

Totheiramazement,Fr.Snyderwasallforit.

We thought, Is he really serious? said Evans. We just

didntthinkserviceproviderswouldbeinterestedinknow-

ingiftheirprogramswork.

Fr.Snyderwasserious,andsoonafter,SullivanandEvans

metwith representatives fromsixCatholicCharities agen-

ciestolaunchtheproject.eydiscussedhowtheprograms

wouldbeevaluatedandmadeitclearthattheresearchmightshowthattheagenciessignatureprogramsdidntwork.e

CatholicCharitiesstamembersunderstoodandwereready

tomoveforward.eywantedtoknow.

atdesiretoknowiswhatenablesparticipationforprovid-

erspeoplecommittedtotheideaofusingresearchtoiden-

tifythemosteectivesolutions,saidEvans.

Sullivan was struck by the enthusiasmof a director of a

homelessnesspreventionprogram,whosaidatasubsequent

meeting,isisamazing.Wevebeenoeringthisprogram

foryears,andwedontevenknowifitworks.inkhowthis

informationwillhelp.

Getting the Right Data

LEObringstogethertrainedresearchersandserviceprovid-ers,each providingnecessary components tomakethe re-

searchsuccessful.Researchersoerthetrainingandresources

toconductresearchstudiesonprogrameectiveness,while

serviceprovidersoerthestudytopicsandaccesstoconsum -

ersanddata.

erstvestudiesarenowunderway.eyareatdier -

entstages andemploydierentevaluativeapproaches,but

thechallengeforallofthemwillbegettingtherightdata,

including data about the people whodont receive servic-

es,whichisneededtomakemeaningfulassessmentsofeachprogramseectiveness.

In one study, Sullivan and Evans are measuring the eec-

tiveness of emergency assistance in preventing homeless-

ness.CatholicCharitiesinChicagooperatesahomelessness

preventionhotlineforthecityofChicago.osewhoare

eligiblecan receivehelpwith rent,mortgage,and/orutili-

typayments,butfundsquicklyrunoutandsomepeople

cannotgethelp.SullivanandEvansarelookingthroughthe

Notre Dame economists Jim Sullivan (seated) and Bill Evans made a presentation on

LEO at the 2012 CCUSA Annual Gathering in St. Louis.


24/48

22 | CHARITIES USA

callcenterrecordstondthosewhoreceivedassistanceand

thosewhodidnt.entheywillgatherinformationfrom

bothgroupsandcomparecertainoutcomes.

Inanotherstudy,Sullivan andEvanshave designeda ran-

domizedcontroltrialtoevaluateanewprogramatCatholic

CharitiesofFortWorth.eVocationProgramwillprovide

casemanagementandotherservicestocommunitycollege

studentstohelpthemgraduateorcompletetheirprograms,

therebyobtainingtheskillsnecessarytogainstableemploy-

mentandimproveearningspotential.Roughly70percent

ofcommunitycollegestudentsdropoutbeforetheyearna

degreeorcerticate.

eexperimententailsrecruitingagroupofstudents,some

whowillreceiveservicesand somewhowillnot,asdeter-

minedbyalottery.SullivanandEvanswillfollowbothsets

ofstudentstoseeifthestudentswhogetcasemanagement

servicesaremorelikelytograduate.

efact that somepeoplewillnot get services canmake

suchexperimentsuncomfortable forserviceproviders,but

becauseagenciestypicallydontcollectdataonthosewhodontgetservices,itsnecessaryforthestudy.Sullivanalso

points out that while it may seem like denying services,

itsnot.

erearelimitedresources,andnoteverykidisgoingtoget

help,saidSullivanabouttheFortWorthprogram.elot -

teryissimplythefairestwaytodeterminewhogetshelp,and

itprovidesuswithwhatwewouldntotherwisehave,anatu-

ralcomparisongroup.

The Potential or Impact

SullivanandEvansareinvolvedineachoftheinitialstudies,

buttheyarealsobuildinganetworkofresearchers,recruiting

expertsinparticulareldsandmatchingthemwithanap-

propriateprogramtoevaluate.Sofar,theresponsefromac -

ademicshasbeenverypositive,withmanyaskinghowthey

cangetinvolved.SullivanandEvanshopetomakemany

morematchesinthefuture.

Wearestillintheproofof conceptstage,stillevaluating

howthispartnershipcanwork,saidSullivan.Butifwecan

showthatitdoeswork,ifwecanshowacademicsthatthisis

ausefulareafortheirresearch,thiswillgoalongway.

IfSullivanandEvansexperienceworkingwithagencies is

anyindication,researcherswillenjoythecollaboration.

emostgratifyingthingaboutthisisworkingwiththe

localagencies.ey are so refreshing.ey have a lot of

energy andexcitementandareamazingly clever.Andthe

accesstheyhavegivenushasbeengreat,saidEvans.

Everyoneinvolvedseesthepotentialimpact.iswillhave

adirectinuenceonhowservicesareprovided,saidSullivan.

Itwillalsohaveadirectinuenceonpolicybecauselawmak -

erswillbeabletoturntoLEOtondevidencethatapartic-

ularkindofprogramworks.

atkindofimpactisrareformanyacademics,anditin -

spires Sullivan and Evans. Wewant todo research that

makesadierenceinpeopleslives.n

For more inormation on LEO, visit www.laboreconomicopportunities.org.


25/48

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING,HUMAN NEED, AND

By Rev. J. Bryan Hehir

InthetwopreviousissuesofCharities USA,whileexploringthethemesofchanginglivesandbuildingcommunities,

weexploredtheCatholicunderstandingofthehumanpersonandtheresponsibilityofthefaithfultobuildandsustain

community.Inthisissue,whichfocusesonhowCatholicCharitiesstrengthenssocietyandthenation,wedrawonthe

writingsofRev.J.BryanHehir,formerpresidentofCatholicCharitiesUSA.efollowingexcerptsaretakenfrom

articlespublishedinCharities USAadecadeago,alsoduringtougheconomictimesandercescaldebates.

Rev.HehirsinsightsandobservationsonCatholicsocialteaching,theroleofgovernmentandprivateorganizations

inacomplexsociety,andthegovernmentsresponsibilityforthepoorarestilltimelyandrelevanttoday.

WINTER 2013 | 23


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24 | CHARITIES USA

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING AND

POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY

Overthepastcentury,Catholicsocialteachinghastriedto

confrontthreegreatsecularchallenges,allhavingtodowith

howyouhonorthedignityofthepersonandhowyouexer-

ciseresponsiblestewardship.ersthalfofthe[twentieth]

century,thechurchtriedtorespondtothechallengeofthe

IndustrialRevolution.AfterWorldWarII,thesecondchal-

lengewasthegrowinginterdependenceoftheworldasauni -

versalhumancommunity.ethirdchallenge is theemer-

genceofwhatsocialscientistscallpost-industrialsociety,a

highlycomplexsocietymarkedbymassiveamountsofsci-

ence,technology,sophisticatedorganization,andcomplexity.

Inpost-industrial society,wehavecome toconfrontstub-

born,new,andirreducibleformsofpovertyinsomeofthe

richestsocietiesknowninthehistoryoftheworld.Incon-

fronting[thisnewpoverty],wearereachingouttotheedge

ofthecircletothosewhodontgetthebenetsfromthe

science,thetechnology,thepolitics,andtheeconomics.

toensure,inthestyleofgoodstewardship,thateverybodys

sacreddignityisservedbyallthosethingsandnotjustsome

ofthem.

Inapartoftheworldthatisunderstoodtobethepremiere

post-industrialsociety.weareaskedtolookatthefollow-

ingdebates:(1)whatistheroleofthestatewhatisitsre-

sponsibility,whatareitscapabilities,whatistheresponsibil-

ityofgovernmenttosupportitspeople?(2)eoldandthe

new economywhat does itmean totalk aboutthenew

economyandwho stands at the edgeofthecircle?What

doestheneweconomysayabouttheedgeofthecircleas

John XXIII, in Mater et Magistra (1961), expanded

on the understanding o subsidiarity by invoking

the concept o socialization, which reers to the

changing context o modern industrial societies in

which the state must ulfll its proper role.


27/48

WINTER 2013 | 25

wellasthecenter? (3)Who isresponsibleforwhom?How

doyouredothesocialcontractsinasocietyfacedwithboth

globalizationandthemeaningofpost-industrialsociety?(4)

Howdoyourelatetheresponsibilityofgovernmenttonon-

governmentorganizationsandtotheprivatesector?(5)How

doesonethinkaboutgovernmentandreligionandtheirrel-

ativeresponsibilities, their collaborative responsibilities for

theedgeofthecircle?Howdowethinkaboutboththene -

cessityofcharityandthelimitsofcharitywhenjusticeisnec -

essaryifwearetoprotecthumansacrednessandbefaithful

tostewardship?

Wearecommittedtobothcollaboratewiththestateandto

critiquethestate.Itisnotasecularizationofthechurchto

takemoneyfromstateagencies.eCatholicChurchdoes

notseethestateasanalienagency.Itseesitasaresponsi-

bleagencywitharesponsibilityforthepoor.echoiceswe

maketocollaboratewiththestatearechoicesthatarewell

groundedinCatholicteachingandoughttobesustained.1

DEFINING THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENTescal policyquestions of taxationandspendinghold

direct implications for the work of Catholic Charities

around the country, because asWall Street Journal colum-

nistDavidWessellputsit,underneaththeargumentsover

taxcuts,spendingpriorities,anddecitslurksafundamen -

talquestionthatneithersidetalksaboutcandidly:Howbig

agovernmentdoesAmericawant?

Catholicsocialteachingprovidesadierentwayofdening

theroleofgovernment(orthestate).eleadingquestion

hereisnotthesizeofgovernment.Itisthenatureandfunc-

tionofgovernment,whichinturnprovidesguidanceabout

itssize.Fromthemoralperspectiveofsocialteaching,the

appropriatequestionsareaboutdutiesofgovernmentand

themostecientandeectivewaysoforganizingthegov-

ernmenttofulllthoseduties.InCentesimus Annus(1991),

JohnPaulIIreiteratedthemodernCatholicconsensusofa

limitedbutactiviststate;activistinthesensethatthestate

hasuniqueresponsibilitiesinsociety,particularlytowardthe

poorandvulnerable;andlimitedinthesensethattherights

oftheperson,theconstitutionalorderoflaw,andtheeco-

nomicroleofthemarketallmustbetakenintoconsider -

ationindetermininghowthestateshouldfulllitsappro-

priaterole.

eachievementof aCatholic consensus on thepolitical,

economic,andculturalroleofthestateabsorbedthetwenti-

ethcentury,andthreekeyprinciplesemergedthatshapethe

discussiononthestates role.erst, subsidiarity, found

intheencyclicalQuadragesimo Anno(1931),wouldbeseen

inAmericanpoliticaldiscourseasaconservativeprinciple

becauseitresiststheideaofresortingtothestateastherst

response to socioeconomic problems. It espousesa plural-

iststructureofpowerinsocietythatguardsagainstlocating

aconcentrationofpowerinthestate,assertingthatitisa

graveevilandadisturbanceofrightordertotransfertothe

larger and higher collectivity functionswhichcan beper-

formedandprovidedforbylesserandsubordinatebodies.

Inthissense,theprinciplerestrainsthereachofthestate,but

itdoessowithoneultimatequalication.Whereitisclear

thatbasicneedswillgounfullledinsocietyorbasicrights

denied,thestatesresponsibilityshouldexpandtomeetthese

issues.

JohnXXIII, inMater et Magistra(1961),expandedonthe

understandingofsubsidiaritybyinvokingtheconceptofso -

cialization,whichreferstothechangingcontextofmodern

industrialsocietiesinwhichthestatemustfulllitsproper

role.edominantcharacteristicofsociallifebythemid-

twentiethcenturywasmultiplicationofsocialrelationships

creating a dailymorecomplexinterdependence through-

outsociety.iscontextwasinparttheproductoftechnolo -

gyandsocialorganization,butitalsoresultedfromandthen

calledforanexpandingroleofthestateinsociety.Doesthis

developmentcontradicttheprincipleofsubsidiarity?John

XXIIIansweredthatitdidnot,whilerecognizingthatsuch

adangercouldarise.ekey safeguard inhisviewwasa

properconceptionofsocietyscommongood,notonlythe

valuesthatcompriseit,buttherolediverseinstitutionsmust

play.Socialization,asaprocess,cannotoverridethebasicas-

sertionofsubsidiaritythatapluraliststructureofpowerbe

preservedinsociety.


28/48

ethirdcontributiontounderstandingtheroleofthestate

isJohnPaulIIssignaturethemeofsolidarity,whichheiden -

tiesasoneofthefundamentalprinciplesoftheChristian

viewof socialandpoliticalorganization in the encyclical

Solicitudo Rei Socials (1987). Solidarity isnota regulative

principlelikesubsidiarity,butavisionofsocialresponsibility,

aconcretesenseofresponsibilityforthewelfareandinterests

ofothers,whichholdsthemoralorderofsocietytogether.

e three ideas outlined here must be held in tension.

Togethertheyprovidethebasisfordeningtheappropriate

roleofthestate,addressingnotitssizebutitsresponsibilities

andlimitations.

GOVERNMENTS RESPONSIBILITY

FOR THE POOR

Broadproposalsarebeingpressed,pushed,debated,andde-

cided in domestic social policy.edominantdebate, of

course,isaboutscalpolicy,taxes,andspending,butthere

aresubordinatethemeswithinthismatrixthatareofspecic

concerntobothCatholicsocialteachingandCatholicsocial

institutionsdedicated tohealthcare,education,andsocialserviceintheUnitedStates.

Onebroad questioninplay isgovernments responsibility

tothepoor.Povertyhasmultiplerootsandmanymanifesta-

tions.eissueareas,whicharealwaysrelevant,arenutrition,

housing,healthcare,education,andemployment.Gapsin

anyoftheseareasthreatenhumandignityandleaveunad-

dressedhumanneeds.everyyoung,theelderly,women,

and immigrants are the most vulnerable to thesegaps in

Americansociety.ebasicpromiseofCatholicsocialteach-

ingisthatsocietyasawholeisresponsibleforthecommongood,and,therefore,themajorsectorsofsocietyhaveobli -

gations(duties)inthefaceofpeoplesueringfrompoverty.

eresponsibilityofthestatetoaddressthefactofpovertyis

notlimitedtowhatitcandothroughreligiousorotherpri-

vateorganizations.estatehasdistinct,independentduties

tothewelfareofindividualsinsociety.[ese]dutieshave

anabsolutecharacter;[while]themethodsoffulllmentare

contingent,[which]makesthemasubjectofdebate.ese

26 | CHARITIES USA


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WINTER 2013 | 27

John Paul II identifed solidarity as one o the

undamental principles o the Christian view o

social and political organization in the encyclical

Solicitudo Rei Socials (1987).


30/48

28 | CHARITIES USA

debatesdescendtoalevelofdetailthatmustbetestedem-

piricallytodeterminethewisdomandjusticeofthepolicy,

butembeddedinthedebateaboutdetailsisafundamental

visionofhowasocietyconceivesofitsdutiestothose indi-

vidualsand familieswith clearlydenableunmetsocioeco-

nomicneeds.

The responsibility o the state to address

the act o poverty is not limited to what it

can do through religious or other private

organizations. The state has distinct,

independent duties to the welare o

individuals in society.

InasocietyliketheUnitedStates,thethreemainvariables

inmeetingtheseneedsarethemarket,thegovernment,and

privateorganizations(religiousandsecular).[Inconsider -

ingthesevariables,]itisusefultorecallthedictumofPope

JohnPaulIIinCentesimus Annus(1991).Inanencyclicalthat

gavemorecredencetotheroleofthemarketasaprinciple

ofeconomicorganizationthananyofhistwentieth-centu-

rypredecessorshaveeveroered,thepopewentontohigh-

lightthemorallimitsofthemarket.eseincludethefact

thatthemarketisrelevantonlytothosewithaminimumof

resourcestoenterit,andthemarketseemsincapableofdis-

tinguishingbetweendierentkindsofgoals,someofwhich

havepurelyinstrumentalvalue(cars)andotherswhichcarry

morallysignicantvalues(healthcare).emorallimitsof

themarketrequirethatitsindispensablefunctioninanecon -

omybesupplementedbyabroadersocialpolicy,theprod-

uctofthepoliticalorder,whichisdesignedtoaddressthose

issuesandthoseindividualswhosebasicneedsarenotmetby

thedynamicofthemarket.isisoneoftheabidingroles

ofthestateinitscontributiontothecommongood.at

rolecannotbedevolvedontothethirdparticipant,thepri-

vateorganizationsofasociety.Argumentsthatsaythat[our]

relyingevermoreonamotivationofcharityandoncharita-

bleinstitutionswillcreateamorallysuperiorsocietyfailon

twogrounds.Byfocusingoncharitytheymissthenecessity

ofstrategiesbasedonobligationsofjustice;inCatholicsocial

teaching,forexample,distributivejusticeisacontrollingcat -

egoryforassessingtaxpolicy.Inaddition,therolegivento

charitablegroupsinasocietyofthissizewillfaroutruntheircapacitiestodelivernecessaryassistance.

Finally,theappealtothemarketasasaviorofthepoorcon-

fusesafundamentallyaccurateassessmentwithabasically

adequatepolicy. A growingeconomyproviding jobswith

livingwagesisthelong-termsolutiontopoverty;the1990s

showedthisdynamicatwork.Butalong-termstrategydoes

notmeetshort-termneeds,andwhenthoseneedsarefood,

shelter,andhealthcare,onecannotjustifyapolicysimply

byitslong-termobjectives.Amixofthemarketandsocial

policyengagingallrelevantplayersinthesocietyisthestrat-

egyindicatedbytheconceptofthecommongood.

CatholicsocialteachingandCatholicinstitutionsbothareat

stakeinthewaythissocietyaddressesgovernmentandpov-

erty.epresent state of the debate poses challenges for

Catholicvision,itsinstitutions,andtheCatholiccommuni-

tythatmustsustaintheviabilityofboth.3n

1. The Sacrality o Human Lie and Stewardship, Charities USA, Vol. 28,

No. 4 : 1, 16-17.

2. Presidents Column,Charities USA, Vol. 30, No. 1: 1, 27.

3. Presidents Column, Charities USA, Vol. 30, No. 2: 1-2.


31/48

WINTER 2013 | 29

I guess youd call her an immigrant success

story, said Lauraine Esparza o her aunt

Antoinette Calta. She was a modest, rugal

woman who worked hard her whole lie.

In September 1929, just one month beore

the U.S. stock market crash, 18-year-old

Antoinette arrived in the United States. She

was astonished at the urban landscape o

her new home in northern New Jersey, a

place entirely dierent rom the majes-

tic mountains and valleys o northern Italy

and the German-speaking area o southern

Switzerland where she had grown up.

What a shock it was or her, leaving her

homeland and moving to a new country,where she didnt know the language, said

Lauraine. She loved her homeland and had

many happy memories there, but she ol-

lowed her amily.

Settling in with her parents and brother

in West New York, NJ, a town across the

Hudson River rom Manhattans Upper East

Side, she learned to speak English and went

to work in New York Citys garment district

as a dressmaker. Later she joined her

ather and brother in managing the amilys

embroidery manuacturing business in

New Jersey.

Relying on each other in a new country and

working together created an extraordinary

closeness in her amily, said Lauraine.

As time went by, Antoinette became the ded-

icated caregiver to her aging parents and

doting aunt to her brothers two daughters,

Lauraine and Marialisa. Lauraine remem-

bers her as a warm and caring person, who

showed her love by cooking authentic Italian

cuisine or her amily and making clothes or

her nieces, including their frst communiondresses, all embroidered o course!

Antoinettes aith was a very important part

o her lie, said Lauraine. She would not

have missed Sunday mass or a holy day o

obligation. Ater she retired, Antoinette at-

tended Mass almost daily.

Antoinette had a generous and compassion-

ate heart, especially or people who were

suering. Ater World War II, when she heard

about the terrible conditions in Europe, she

sent money back home to Italy to help

riends and amily. She also saved money

throughout her lie to support good causes,

including Catholic Charities.

As she neared the end o her lie, my aunt

wanted to ensure that some o her hard

earned savings would go to support her

church, her community, and the many proj-

ects that Catholic Charities is involved

in, said Lauraine. A bequest to Catholic

Charities not only made good fnancial

sense to her but was a good emotional in-

vestment as well.

Catholic Charities USA is grateul to

Antoinette Calta and the many generous

people who support CCUSA and Catholic

Charities agencies across the country.

Our work is indeed a good cause, just as

Antoinette understood.n

Antoinette Calta

A THANK YOUTO THOSE WHO SUPPORT CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA

As she neared the end o her lie,

Antoinette wanted to ensure that some

o her hard earned savings would go

to support her church, her community,

and the many projects that Catholic

Charities is involved in.


32/48

30 | CHARITIES USA

SURVIVING SANDYCCUSA AND LOCAL AGENCIES OFFER RELIEF AFTER A SUPERSTORMS DESTRUCTION

ResponseDisaster

epredictionswererightaboutSandy.Asthistropicalcy-

cloneconvergedwithotherstormsystemsintoonemassive

storm,theMid-AtlanticandNortheastregionsoftheUnited

Statesbracedfortheonslaught.Anditcame.Makingland-

fallnearAtlanticCity,NJ,onOctober29,Sandybrought80

mphwinds,arecordstormsurgeofover13feetinsomeareas,

andtorrentialrainsofupto12inchesalongthecoastfrom

MarylandtoConnecticut.Sandyalsocreatedblizzardcon-

ditionsinthecentralandsouthernAppalachians,dumping

morethanafootofsnowinsixstatesfromNorthCarolina

toPennsylvania,andevenmoresnowinWestVirginia.Over

8millionhomeslostpower,and130fatalitieswerereported.

irteenCatholic Charities agenciesandtheir dioceses in

NewJersey,NewYork,Connecticut,Delaware,Pennsylvania,

andWestVirginiawereimpactedbythedisaster.

Intheearlydaysafterthestormhit,therespondingagencies

focusedonacquiringanddistributingallkindsofsupplies

food, water, clothing, hygiene and cleaning kits, diapers,

blankets, batteries, wipes, medication, and other needed

items.Somesetupshelters,andmostsetupdistributionsites

throughouttheimpactedregion,inparishes,schools,railway

stations,andothersites.Agenciesalsocoordinatedthework

ofvolunteers,whostaeddistributionsitesandhelpedwith

theclean-up.

Even as they provided these services, the impacted agen-

ciesassessedthedamagetotheirfacilitiesandtheneedsof

theiremployees.Severalagenciesexperienceddamageand/

orpowerandcommunicationoutagesto their facilities,as

wellas dicultyinoperatingtheir regularservicesbecause

employeescouldntgettoworkbecauseofooding,downed


33/48

WINTER 2013 | 31

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Bridgeport

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o Hartord

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Wilmington

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Camden

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Metuchen

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o Newark

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Paterson

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Trenton

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o New York

Catholic Charities, Diocese o Rockville Centre

Catholic Charities West Virginia

Catholic Social Services, Archdiocese

o Philadelphia

treesandpowerlines,lackofpublictransportation,andgas

shortages.

Whileagencieswerebusy locally,CCUSAworkedto assist

them and coordinate the national Catholic Charities re-

sponse.CCUSAconductedregularconferencecallswiththe

impactedagencies,workedwithnationalpartnerstosecure

neededsupplies,coordinatedsupplyshipmentstoCatholic

Charities distribution sites, arrangeddeploymentsof sup-

portteams fromotheragencies,deployednationalstaon

thegroundtoassistwhereneeded,andhandledthemany

oersofsupportfromagencies,dioceses,andothergenerous

people andorganizations acrossthecountry.CCUSA alsostaedaseatattheNewJerseyRegionalOperationsand

IntellegenceCenterandlatertheFEMAJointFieldOce

inNew Jersey, providing a continuouslypresentCatholic

Charitiesrepresentativetocoordinatethenetworksresponse

withgovernmentagencies.

Asthedayspastafterthestormandpeoplesbasicneedswere

adequatelymet,agenciesmovedintoprovidingneedsassess-

ments,casemanagement,andinformationandreferralser -

vicestohelppeoplebecomestable.Staandvolunteerswent

doortodoorinsomeareas,andinothersmetwithpeopleatdisasterservicessites.

eresponsetoSandyhasnowmovedintothelong-termre-

coveryphaseforthosehardesthit.Morethan400,000homes

were damaged or destroyed by the storm, and Catholic

Charitiesagenciesareworkingwithmanyfamiliestohelp

themrebuildtheirhomesandtheirlives.

Making landall near Atlantic City, NJ, on

October 29, Sandy brought 80 mph winds,

a record storm surge o over 13 eet in

some areas, and torrential rains o up to 12

inches along the coast rom Maryland to

Connecticut.

Responding Agencies


34/48

32 | CHARITIES USA

TAPPING THE NETWORKS STRENGTHWith more people than they could handle coming to their doors, sev-

eral impacted agencies tapped into our networks strength and wel-

comed sta members rom other agencies to assist them in respond-

ing to the needs o storm victims. CCUSA coordinated the deployment

o 15 sta members rom across the country to agencies in New

Jersey and New York. The 15 deployed workers stayed to assist rom

two weeks to a month.

This is a great example o our network coming together to help, said

Katie Oldaker, CCUSAs director o disaster response. We put out a

plea or anyone who could come, and we got a great response. The out-

pouring was really pretty incredible.

Lee Kurzen o Catholic Charities Diocese o Palm Beach was deployed

along with colleagues Denise McOsker and Helen Kelly to New Jersey

to help Catholic Charities o Trenton with disaster relie. Lee described

the dire situations o people in need in a letter to Sheila Gomez, exec-

utive director o Catholic Charities Diocese o Palm Beach.

We have been working nonstop with people that have had to put their

lives on hold. Many are praying they have a place to stay or anoth-

er week and are wondering how they will put ood on the table or

their kids. Others eel they have worn out their welcome staying at the

house or apartment o a riend rom church or work, or with anyone

that wasnt evacuated and trusted that their stay would only be a night

or two. It has turned into our weeks going on ve, and people do not

see how their situation will change any time soon.

Many o the amilies we met lost their homes completely.They are

now aced with moving out o the area or some way rebuilding i a

mortgage is available. Others had their rst foor fooded with saltwa-

ter, diesel, and gas uel that cannot be drawn rom their structure.

We met with amilies o nine people living in two-bedroom apartments

due to the lack o home rentals.Several are living in hotel rooms

unded by FEMA and have to apply every two weeks to qualiy.We

also saw people that were always able to give their time, talents, and

treasures in the past and are now in tears, humbled to ask or help

and not knowing what to do or to whom they can turn or help.


35/48

WINTER 2013 | 33

Superstorm Sandy Statistics

$63,000,000,000: Estimated dollar value o damages caused by the storm.

60,000,000: Number o people impacted by the storm

(20% o U.S. population).

8,100,000: Number o homes that lost power. The outages aected

people in 17 states, as ar west as Michigan.

820: Sandys size in miles, as measured by the diameter o tropical storm-orce

sustained winds, as it made landall just south o Atlantic City, New Jerseymore

than double the landall size o Hurricanes Isaac and Irene combined.


36/48

34 | CHARITIES USA

Imalwaysamazedbythestrengthofthehumanspirit.

HavingjustreturnedfromvisitingCatholicCharitiesagen-

ciesinNewYorkandNewJerseyaectedbySuperStormSandy,Iwastouchedbytheactsofkindnessandgenerosi -

tyIpersonallywitnessedfromsta,volunteers,andneigh-

borswhojustwanttohelpthoselookingtoputtheirlives

backtogether.

ImetapizzashopownerinStatenIslandwhohasbeenpro-

vidingpizzastofamilieswithnopowerorheatwhoneed

somethingtoeat.Itstheleasthecando,hetoldme.His

pizzatruckparkedoutsideanagencydistributioncenter,he

becomesoverwhelmedwhentalkingaboutthedestruction

thehurricanecaused,sayingheplanstostaythereatthesite

foraslongasthecommunityneedshim.

Imetvolunteerswhohavebeenworkingnonstopsince

theHurricanepassedstangdistributionsites,sorting

throughdonations,andorganizingitemssothat,asonevol-

unteerexplained,peoplecangoFast-inandFast-out.

Sheadded,Askingpeopleiftheyneedhelpisjustasim-

portantasprovidingittothem.Sometimespeoplecomein,

haveagoodcry,andthenIhelpthemgetwhattheyneed.

THE STRENGTHOF THE HUMAN SPIRITFr. Larry Snyder penned these thoughts after his tour of impacted Catholic Charities agencies

in New Jersey and New York.

Visit www.thinkandactanew.org to read his entire blog entry.


37/48

WINTER 2013 | 35

ImetafamilyinNewJerseywhowasdroppingogoodsat

adistributioncentertodonatetothefamiliesaected.ey

were someof the luckyones, they explained,andwhile

theyhadseenthetelevisioncoverageoftheaftermath,they

wereshockedtoseejusthowrealthedestructionhadbeen.

Havingtopassthroughsomeoftheimpactedareasforthe

rsttime,theytoldme,isisawholenewexperiencefor

NewJersey.

AndImetdozensofstaatourlocalagencieswhohavebeen

workingeverydaysincethestormrsthit.Asoneagencydi-

rectorexplained,Insomeways,staimpactedbystorms

wanttocometoworktotaketheirmindsothelossfeltat

home.Manyagencystaareleadingdisasterresponseef-

fortsandconductingdamageassessments,thingsthatwerent

somethingtheynecessarilysignedupfororsomethingthat

fallsundertheirjobdescription,butitsincredibletoseeso

manystepupanddowhatevertheyneedtodo.

eyaretired,thestresslevelishigh,buttheyknowthat

theyarepartofanetworkofmorethan65,000employees,

eachwillingtohelpinwhateverwaytheycan.

Someofthishelpcomes from the donations we have re-

ceivedfrompeopleacrossthecountryforCCUSAsdisas-

terfund.esedonationsgodirectlytosupportsuchthings

ascasemanagementandemergencyassistance,cleaningand

houserepairassistance,emergencyevacuationassistance,and

long-termrecoveryneeds.

Duringmyvisits,Iwasabletopresentagencieswith$10,000

grants,adownpaymentwhichservesasareminderthatwe

arecommittedtodoingwhatwecantohelpeachofthese

agenciesrespondandrecover.

Mypreviousexperienceswith suchdisastersasHurricane

Katrina have taughtme that even though the storm haspassed,therecoveryeortsarejustbeginning.ankstoour

agencynetworkandthecontinuedgenerosityofthethou-

sandslookingtohelpthoseinneed,wewillcontinueto

providesupporttoourlocalagenciesuntilallthoseaected

haverebuilt.n


38/48

CCUSA National Ofce Houses Code

o Support Foundation

In November, CCUSA began sharing its ofcespace with the Code o Support Foundation.

Code o Support is a relatively young orga-

nization whose mission is to ensure that all

Americans understand and appreciate the ser-

vice and sacrifce o the 1% who serve in uni-

orm, are committed to sharing responsibility

or our national deense, and are actively in-

volved in supporting our troops, our veterans,

and military amilies. In support o its mission,

the oundation serves as an advocate or the

needs o our troops and or the community o

organizations that address those needs, identi-

fes and remedies critical and under-resourced

troop support, and works to acilitate eec-

tive communication and cooperation within the

non-proft troop support community and gov-

ernment agencies to increase their collective

eectiveness.

The oundation, with only three employees, in-

cluding U.S. Major General Alan Salisbury, the

organizational ounder and chairman, andKristina Kaumann, its executive director, was

in need o ofce space. Catholic Charities USA,

wanting to do more to support military amilies

and to develop our networks services or mili-

tary amilies, was able to oer ofce space.

Vatican Confrms Rev. Snyder or Second Term on Pontifcal

Council Cor Unum

36 | CHARITIES USA

Rev.LarrySnyder,presidentofCatholicCharitiesUSA,wasconrmedbythe

HolyFatherasamemberofthePonticalCouncilCorUnumforasecondve-

yearperiod.InaletterinformingFr.Snyderofhisappointment,thepresidentof

thePonticalCouncilCorUnum,RobertCardinalSarah,wrote,Whileenclos -

ingyourletterofappointment,Iavailtheopportunitytoexpressourwishesfora

continuedfruitfulcollaborationwiththisDicasteryoftheHolySee,duringthis

secondtermofthisresponsibilityentrustedtoyoubytheSupremePonti.Father

SnydertraveledtoRomeinJanuaryforthecouncilsPlenaryAssembly.

ItisaprivilegetobegiventheopportunitytocontinuetoservetheChurchand

CatholicCharitiesagenciesacrossthecountryinthisway,saidFr.Snyder.We

areremindedofthepowerfulmessageofChristtodelivercharitytothemillions

inneed.roughthePonticalCouncilCorUnum,wehavetheinspirationand

coordinationtomanifestChristsloveinthesecharitableworks.

ePonticalCouncilCorUnumforHumanandChristianDevelopmentisa

counciloftheRomanCuriaoftheRomanCatholicChurchdevotedtohuman

andChristiandevelopment.Itoverseescatholicorganzationcharitableactivities.

UpdateCCUSA


39/48

Catholic Charities USA is proud to unveil our redesigned website,

which makes it easier to browse, stay up to date with the latest

Catholic Charities inormation, and be inspired by the work being

done by CCUSA and the Catholic Charities network.

This is just the frst phase o a site that eatures resh and

streamlined content and interactive elements that will make it easier

to engage with visitors interested in our work to reduce poverty in

America. Right away, youll see that:

Weve redesigned our home page so it is easier to navigate.It now eatures a rotating menu o items and allows quick and easy

access to the inormation that our visitors most requently use.

Weve streamlined contenton the site so that inormation is

easier to fnd. Weve also implemented the use o a third-party fle

sharing site so that you can download and share the vast library

o resourcesranging rom press releases and policy papers to

prayers resources and backgroundersavailable to our members

and stakeholders.

Weve added an agency spotlight section, a regularly updated

eature on our home page that allows us to spotlight the incredible

work our agencies are doing in communities across the country.

Over the next six months, youll begin noticing additional new

elements that are part o the second phase o the redesign process,

where we will bring to lie more complex and interactive elements

such as searchable databases and interactive timelines and maps,

as well as discuss solutions and best practices to keep the website

up to date with resh and timely inormation.

We are grateul to everyone that played a role in the sites redesign

process and welcome your eedback and suggestions as we continue

our eorts to address poverty in this country.

WINTER 2013 | 37

Justintime foranksgiving,CatholicCharitiesUSAand

CatholicCharitiesoftheDioceseofPaterson,NJ,wereable

torestoreonelittlepieceoftraditionforthethousandsof

familiesimpactedbyHurricaneSandy.

Around November 15, it looked like Catholic Charities

PatersonwouldnotbeabletodistributeturkeysatitsFather

EnglishCenter,asithasdoneforyears.erewerentenough

turkeys,neitherwastherestawiththetimetotracksome

down.ExecutiveDirector JosephDuy shared this news

withCatholicCharitiesUSAduring a disaster relief con-

ferencecall.

Afterhearing thisnews andhoping tobring somejoyto a

communityalreadyhithardbyHurricaneSandy,CCUSA

contacteditsnationalpartnerstoseewhatcouldbedone.Just

dayslater,onNovember20,twodaysbeforeanksgiving,

3,000turkeysweredeliveredtotheFatherEnglishCenter.

Whena crowdofpeopleat thecenter heardhowCCUSA

andpeopleacrossthecountryhadworkedtogettheturkeys

tothem,theyapplaudedtheeort,expressedtheirgratitude,

andeagerlyawaitedaturkeytobringhome.

Eachpersonwasindividuallygreeted,andwishedaHappy

anksgiving,saidDuy.ejoywaspalpable.n

CCUSA UNVEILSREDESIGNED WEBSITE

CCUSA and Catholic Charities o Paterson, NJ, Team Up

to Distribute Turkeys

CCUS

ANAM

EDONE

OF30M

OSTP

OWERFUl

CHAR

ITYWEB

SITED

ESIgN

S


40/48

38 | CHARITIES USA

MostRev.MichaelJ.Branseld,

BishopofWheeling-Charleston,

publishedinDecemberapastoral

lettertitledSettingChildrenFree:

LooseningtheBondsofPovertyin

WestVirginia.elettercallsatten-

tiontopovertyinWestVirginiaand

itsdevastatingeectsonthestates

children.Branseldalsocommitted

$100,000inmatchinggrantsforpar-

ishes,schools,andagenciesinthedio-

cesewhowishtoimplementlocalpro-

gramsandoutreachtoaddressissues

identiedinthepastoral.

Itismyhopetospeaktothegriefand

anguishofthepooramongus,espe-

ciallytheexperienceofourchildren

andfamiliesinpoverty,andoerto

themacompassionatemessageofjoy

andhope,Branseldsaysintheletter.

Atthesametime,Iwanttoinviteyou,

dearbrothersandsisters,tojoinmein

compassionatecareforthepoorand

continualsolicitudeontheirbehalf.

ebishopnotesinhisletterthat

WestVirginiaexperienceshigherinci-

dentsoflowbirthweightandinfant

mortalitythanthenationalaverage.echilddeathrateishigher,asisthe

percentageofchildrenapprovedfor

freeandreduced-priceschoolmeals.

echildabuseandneglectrateis

abovethenationalaverage,asarethe

numberofchildrenwithpoororal

health,theteenbirthrate,andper-

centageofbirthstounmarriedteens.

Allofthesestatistics,takentogeth-

er,hesaid,giveaclearunderstanding

Heather Reynolds o Catholic Charities

Fort Worth Named CEO o the Year

OnNovember9,2012,theCenterforNonprotManagementinDallas,TX,

celebratedits12thAnnualANight

ofLightAwardofExcellenceceremo -

ny.CatholicCharitiesFortWorthsvery

ownHeatherReynoldswashonoredas

theCEOoftheYear.isawardofex -

cellenceisatestamenttoHeatherslead -

ershipandcommitmenttothemis-

sionofCatholicCharitiesFortWorth.

eagencyreceiveda$5,000gift

fromthecentertocontinueitsgoalofendingpovertyinitscommunity.

Congratulations,Heather!

A Pa s t o r al L e t t e r by

B i s h o p M i c h a e l J . B r a n s f i e l d

LooseningthebondsofpovertyinWestVirginia

Bishop o Wheeling-Charleston Publishes Pastoral Letter on Reducing Poverty

NewsNotes


41/48

WINTER 2013 | 39

oftheexperienceofpovertyamong

youngpeopleanditsconsequencesfor

theirhealth.

Tohelpthechildrenofourstaterise

frompovertywilltakeawidevari-

etyofapproaches,thebishopsaysin

hisletter.Extendingcompassionate

caretochildrenmeansthatweshould

workforpoliciesregardinghealthand

educationwhichwillgivetheseyoung

oneslonglives,fullofwell-being.

Lidia Bastianich Joins Catholic CharitiesNew York to Raise Funds

LidiaBastianich,thetelevision

chef,cookbookwriter,andrestaura-

teur,joinedCatholicCharitiesofthe

ArchdioceseofNewYorkandgro-

cerystoreShopritetohelpthoseim-

pactedbyHurricaneSandybyhold-

ingabenetraeatherStatenIsland

booksigning.BorninPula,acityin

CroatiathatwasthenpartofItaly,Ms.

BastianichcreditsCatholicCharities

forbringingherandherfamilyfrom

persecutiontosafetyafterWorldWar

II.Gratefulforthehelpshereceived

fromthissocialservic

Documents

Charities USA Magazine: Winter 2013