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1150 Buffalo Rd. • Rochester, NY 14624

® Copyright 2018 by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. All rights reserved.

SPRING 2018

A Q UA R T E R LY P R O G R E S S R E P O R T F R O M C AT H O L I C C H A R I T I E S O F T H E D I O C E S E O F R O C H E S T E R

Inside this Issue: Addressing H

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The Eucharist commits us to the poor

Regional Roundup continued from page 3

In this Year of the Eucharist in the Diocese of Rochester parish social ministry volunteers and staff were reminded during their recent Social Ministry Conference held at Notre Dame Retreat House on April 26 that the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist commits us to the poor”(#1397).

Appropriately, the conference began with the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy led by Father Jim Hewes. In ad-dition to preaching at the Liturgy Father Hewes also led a workshop entitled “Consistent Life Ethic: Solidarity in the Body of Christ.”

After lunch, Gioviana Caroscio gave the keynote address on “Spirituality, Poverty, and the Eucharist”. Giovina drew on her rich background of 24 years of service with Catholic

Charities and her 14 years on the staff of the Mercy Spiritu-ality Center in Rochester.

Two flights of workshops addressed how parish leaders can respond to the issues of immigration, abortion expan-sion in NY State, the opioid crisis, sustainable energy, the Farm Bill, and how to be more effective in speaking with those seeking assistance.

The planners of the conference tried a new format for sharing 11 different “success stories from the parishes”. Each of the 11 success stories were offered simultaneously and lasted 15 minutes before the participant moved on to the next table for another 15 minute conversation. The cy-cle was repeated three times in the last 45 minutes of the conference.

There is a common misperception that the only loca-tion in the Diocese of Rochester which has a significant homeless population is the City of Rochester.

Unfortunately, the reality is far different. The Diocese of Rochester has a significant homeless population through-out its twelve county region, including single men, women and children and families. There is a significant homeless population in urban areas, rural communities and even suburban townships.

Through its unique decentralized structure, Catholic Charities is well positioned to address the needs of the homeless in all corners of the Diocese.

It is the purpose of this newsletter to give an overview of the efforts of Catholic Charities to address homeless-ness in the 12 county Diocese.

Two important statistics best summarize these efforts. While not all this assistance directly addressed the prob-lem of homelessness, much of it indirectly helped pre-vent homelessness. In 2017, Catholic Charities provided some type of emergency assistance to 33,000 individuals throughout the Diocese. More directly related to pre-venting homelessness, in 2017, Catholic Charities provided $1.1 million in rental assistance to 1,150 families.

Summarized here is an overview of the many approach-es to homelessness which Catholic Charities has devel-oped over the years. The individual agency articles provide more detail about these various programs.

Of course, at the center of all these efforts is the work of Providence Housing Development Corporation which was created in 1994 to “develop and manage safe affordable housing for low income individuals and families, senior citizens and the special needs population.”

Over the last twenty-four years, Providence has devel-oped 23 different housing projects in the Diocese with a total construction value of more than $130 million. Provi-dence manages 24 different projects serving over 1,500 individuals. In addition, in conjunction with other case management agencies, Providence provides a number of programs focused directly on homelessness: Shelter Plus Care, Veterans Permanent Housing Program, Suburban Supportive Housing Initiative, OTDA Support Grant for

Son House, City of Rochester Emergency Shelter Grant, and a Monroe County Office of Mental Health Grant, among others.

Because homelessness is indeed a significant problem in the City of Rochester and Monroe County, homelessness services are an important part of the work of Catho-lic Family Center (Catholic Charities of Monroe County).

Catholic Family Center is the largest provider of services in Monroe County, operating three shelters: Francis Center for men, Sanctuary House for women and families with children and Place of Hope for single women, women with children and intact families. In 2017, these three shelters served 2,688 people, 26% of whom were children. The two shelters for women and children or families served 1,676, 42% of whom were children.

Catholic Charities Community Services embrac-es the Housing First approach to combat homelessness in the community. Housing First is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before addressing other needs such as getting a job, budgeting their resources or attending to substance abuse issues. Catholic Charities Community Services pro-vides three programs for homeless persons: through a grant from the City of Rochester, a program to address the housing needs of People Living with HIV/AIDS; a program that offers long-term and short-term subsidies; and a pro-gram which focuses on securing supports for individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues. Last year, 150 individuals were helped through their programs.

Moving clockwise from Monroe County through the 12 county Diocese, since 2006, Catholic Charities of Wayne County has provided transitional housing with support services for local farmworkers and their families. La Casa, a four unit property located in Sodus, provides relief for men who sleep in fields or their cars. Typical stay is 60-90 days, while residents strive to find more perma-nent housing and/or support services. Operating costs are subsidized by local foundations and many caring and generous donors.

Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes has Home-

less Coordinators in both Ontario and Cayuga County. In Ontario County, typically case management services are provided to 100 individuals per month. The coordinator in Cayuga County has expressed a concern about the need for emergency resources.

A Place to Stay is a signature program of Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga. As its contribution to the Tompkins County “Coordinated Assessment Team” ini-tiative, this lovely home near the agency’s office can house up to four guests at a time in a safe, secure setting, while providing guests with support and guidance to get their lives on a better track.

Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler Coun-ties serves the homeless through the Second Place East Shelter and a variety of residential programs for persons experiencing mental illness. In 2017, 324 were served at Second Place East and 368 participated in the other resi-dential programs.

The SNAP (food stamp) outreach program of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier is an important vehicle in preventing homelessness, because this source of food al-lows use of a households’ limited funds for rent. In 2017, 180 households participated in the SNAP outreach pro-gram.

The Turning Point program of Catholic Charities of Steuben has developed innovative and effective ways to identify, reach out, and serve those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. One such approach is through the Mobile Turning Point initiative, in which staff provides service at multiple food pantries. In 2017, the agency iden-tified and served 157 homeless people.

A staple of the services of Catholic Charities of Liv-ingston County for more than 20 years has been the Emergency Housing Services program. Catholic Charities rents an apartment in Mt. Morris and one in Dansville to provide temporary housing, while staff works with client families to find more permanent housing and support ser-vices.

There are many faces of homelessness in our Dio-cese. Catholic Charities has a wide variety of effective approaches to addressing their needs.

Catholic Charities Takes ManyApproaches To Addressing Homelessness

Food Bank of the Southern Tier

What’s it like to live in poverty in the Southern Tier? To stifle your pride and accept help to make ends meet? How do you feed yourself for $6 a day?

Wendy can tell you. She is a food pantry client and a gradu-ate of the Food Bank’s Speakers Bureau. Wendy is a Food Bank advocate and she wants to clear up some stereotypes about people who need food assistance to get by.

Wendy was a 23-year-old college student when she sus-tained a traumatic brain injury at work. She was left with debilitating headaches from spinal fluid pooling in her brain. Despite chronic pain and nausea, Wendy completed a bach-elor’s degree in Human and Community Services and began working with a women’s and children’s program. But multiple brain surgeries kept her from pursuing that passion. Wendy will require surgeries for the rest of her life to control her condition.

Now, Wendy, 50, lives on $825 per month from Supple-mental Security Income (SSI) and $192 from SNAP, formerly called Food Stamps. Wendy is frustrated by the stereotype that people who need government assistance don’t want to work, and that recipients are living easy, leisurely lives.

“Even if I could only earn $1,000 a month working, I’d trade it in a minute if I could be healthy,” she says. “Anyone who’s on SNAP would give it up if they could have a job that met their needs.”

Wendy’s fulltime job is maintaining her health; she has at least three doctor’s appointments a week. Every surgery leaves Wendy less ability to focus, organize and concentrate. She struggles with anxiety, depression and intense fatigue.

Wendy’s story is common among people relying on SNAP and other social assistance programs. Nearly 3 million New Yorkers use SNAP. The majority of SNAP recipients in New York state are children, elderly or disabled, with just 12 per-cent of recipients who are non-disabled, non-elderly adults not living with children.

Most SNAP recipients who can work do so. Among SNAP households with at least one working-age, non-disabled adult, more than half work while receiving SNAP. According to Cen-sus data, more than half of able adults receive SNAP for less than two years.

Federal assistance programs cover Wendy’s rent in low-income housing, utilities and groceries. Medicaid covers her medical needs; her former employer does not, although she was hurt on the job. Wendy has learned to live very simply, and she budgets every dollar carefully.

“I’m a bit of a counter, so I keep track of things,” Wendy says. She knows exactly how long a bottle of shampoo is likely to last and how many rolls of toilet paper she’ll need in a month. She knows the best prices on whole milk and dairy products, and the price differential between buying or making her own yogurt and cottage cheese.

Wendy also relies on local pantries and low-cost farm

Camp Stella Maris

As a ministry of the Diocese of Rochester, Camp Stella Maris is committed to serving all God’s children through the joyful experience of Summer Camp. CSM works closely with Diocesan and Social Service agencies to provide camp schol-arships (camperships) to children whose families are in fi-nancial hardship. For these kids, a week at summer camp can aid in their development of self-confidence, social skills, and self-esteem. While a week a Camp alone won’t dramatically change the outlook for impoverished children, even limited opportunities for growth, increased self-esteem and lessons in positive decision-making tactics are highly beneficial to their young lives.

shares. She prepares and freezes vegetables to get through the winter.

After her bills are paid and basic needs met, Wendy has about $25 left over per week for unexpected expenses and an occasional splurge, like lunch out with a friend or a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Sometimes, she’ll budget $7 for a pound of shrimp that she can use in four meals.

It’s important to Wendy that people know she wouldn’t survive without the vital support she receives, and that she doesn’t take it for granted.

“As for getting rich off benefits, I must be doing it wrong because I don’t have a lot extra of anything,” Wendy says. “Most people who receive help wonder all the time about how anyone could get rich off the system. Most of this ‘free money’ goes right to my landlord and utility bills.”

A reduction in SNAP benefits would mean more visits to food pantries, less nutritious food, and being a little hungry sometimes. As things are, Wendy says, “My needs are met and my wants are few.”

Catholic Charities touches the lives of 250,000 people in the 12 County Diocese

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Regional Roundup: Good News from Around the Diocese

Catholic Charities of Steuben County

A safety net for the homelessEveryone could use a safety net to catch them when they

fall. Unfortunately, not everyone has one. For most of us, home means we have a place to go, a place that is ‘ours’, where our identity takes its cue. For some people, though, ‘home’ has been lost or about to be lost through adverse circumstances. That is why Turning Point, a service priority for Catholic Charities of Steuben, has developed innovative and highly effective ways to identify, reach out, and serve those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Homelessness has four primary definitions:• Living in a public or private place that is not suitable

for human habitation (parks, under bridges, condemned buildings, etc.)

• Living in a shelter designated for temporary living• Living with relatives or friends• Fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violenceThrough years of experience, Catholic Charities recog-

nizes the tremendous challenges people face when they are suddenly at risk of losing their home, or without transporta-tion, food or money, or have a serious health issue. That is why the agency launched a new initiative last year to deploy mobile Turning Point emergency assistance sites around Steu-ben County. After a successful rollout of providing services at several food pantry sites in Corning, Catholic Charities is expanding this model to reach into communities throughout Steuben County this year. Every week, staff goes out to food pantries, libraries, churches, fire halls and community outreach sites, to offer hope and support many people desperately need. As of the end of March, outreach from the three offices has been expanded to 15 additional mobile locations every month.

When someone seeks assistance through Turning Point staff, they are asked to complete a form that provides infor-mation about their household needs and expenses. Through this well-developed screening process, staff can identify sourc-es of income stress which might contribute to homelessness or the risk of becoming homeless. Each time they are seen they are askked to update the information about any chang-es in housing, household size, income and basic needs that could impact their lives even more. In 2017, Catholic Charities gave out over 3,300 bus tokens, assisted with over 200 utility Roundup continued on page 4

At the center of the effort of the Catholic Charities com-munity to address the needs of the homeless in the Diocese is the work of Providence Housing Development Corpora-tion.

Providence was established in 1994 by Catholic Chari-ties and the Diocese as a vehicle “to develop and manage safe, affordable housing for individuals, families, senior citi-zens and the special needs population.”

Over the last twenty-four years, Providence has devel-oped 23 projects throughout the 12 county Diocese with a construction value of $130 million. Today, Providence manages 24 such projects serving a total of over 1,500 individuals.

Besides these projects, Providence is currently engaged in several grant initiatives to serve the homeless.

The HUD funded Suburban Supportive Housing Initiative created through an interfaith partnership with Temple Beth-El is designed to provide permanent housing and support services to up to 22 single parent families in a suburban setting who are in need of a safe home away from domestic abuse. In 2017, 61 families were served.

The Shelter Plus Care program is designed to provide transitional rental housing and support services for those coming out of alcohol or substance abuse treatment. In 2017, 63 persons were served.

Through the HUD-funded Veterans Housing Pro-gram, 16 persons were served in 2017.

Through the Homelessness Outreach and Engage-ment Program, Providence operated two separate grants in 2017. The purpose of both programs is to engage with homeless individuals and families on the streets and in the shelters and help them find long-term permanent housing and support services.

Also in 2017, Providence partnered with Person Cen-tered Housing options on three new HUD funded grants that will allow for a broader array of permanent housing options.

Rapid Recovery provides short-term financial aid and support services to offer families opportunities to qualify for permanent housing.

Providence is a most valuable source in addressing the needs of the homeless.

Providence Housing Development Corporation

Catholic Family Center

A teddy bear dressed in a tutu sits on a windowsill, wait-ing to welcome a little girl who one day soon will occupy the room. This image immediately conveys the spirit of com-fort and refuge that Catholic Family Center (CFC) hopes to bring to women and their children who will be sheltered at our recently re-opened Sanctuary House in Rochester, NY.

Catholic Family Center is the largest provider of shelter services in Monroe County, New York (the Salvation Army is the next largest provider), operating three shelters: Francis Center, for men; Sanctuary House, for women and women with children; and Place of Hope, for single women, women with children, and intact families. In 2017, these shelters served 2,688 people, 26% of whom were children. Our two shelters for women and children or families served 1,671 people, 42% of whom were children.

The population served continues to grow. In 2016, the number of those qualifying for emergency shelter services in Monroe County rose 4% from 2015 to over 7,800 individu-als. Catholic Family Center served 3,832 of these, or 49% of the total. In addition, CFC provides over 2,500 hospitality nights annually, where the individuals are not ‘qualified’ from the County’s perspective, but they are indeed homeless; so CFC offers shelter with no compensation. Increasingly, the agency is encountering individuals and families from areas of concentrated poverty in the Rochester urban neighbor-hoods. Of special concern is the increase in homelessness experienced by children in Rochester, which rose from just over 5% in 2011 to 9% in 2016. The majority of these chil-dren are the ‘hidden homeless’ with 78% “couch surfing” with friends or extended family - sometimes with their fami-lies, sometimes not.

While the ultimate goal at CFC is to help clients and their children find stable and safe housing, oftentimes, these fami-lies experience barriers that significantly influence their abil-ity to find and secure the help they need. Individualized care and case management, such as those services provided by CFC, have proven effective to help families break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, but the path can be complex and involve not only expert support to navigate the system of options, but also time.

Over the last several years, two significant economic bar-riers have emerged for these families: 1) the lack of afford-able housing and 2) a declining job market for those with a high school education or less. The fact is that the economic recovery in our country since the recession in 2008 pres-ents a special challenge for those with a limited education: while over 8.6 million jobs have been created for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, those with a high school edu-cation or less experienced a loss of 5.5 million jobs. (jobs for those with an associate’s degree or “some” college ex-perienced a modest increase in job growth) And, those jobs that are available to this population do not pay the wage required for a safe and affordable 2-bedroom rental unit in Rochester. In order to afford the rent, a person would have to earn $16.60 per hour of full time employment. Combined with the added challenges of planning for transportation and childcare while at work, achieving stability and growth when starting from a position of homelessness and joblessness is fraught with instability and risk.

Serving this population has become increasingly difficult in light of the impact we have experienced from changes in homeless services policy:

NY State now classifies emergency housing as “tempo-rary housing assistance”, and reimbursement policies now reflect a very temporary nature of supporting people in

Catholic Charities Community Services

Catholic Charities Community Services embraces the Housing First approach to combat homelessness in the com-munity. Housing First is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before addressing the other needs such as getting a job, budgeting their resources, or attending to substance use disorders.

Consumers in a Housing First model access housing first and are more likely to remain stably housed. This is true for both permanent supportive housing (PSH) and rapid re-housing programs. PSH has a long-term housing reten-tion rate of up to 98 percent. Studies have shown that rapid re-housing helps people exit homelessness quickly, an average of two months—and remain housed. A variety of studies have shown that between 75 percent and 91 percent of households remain housed a year after being rapidly re-housed. (US Dept. Housing and Urban Development, 2016)

Catholic Charities Community Services receives fund-ing from the City of Rochester, originating from the Fed-eral Office of Housing and Urban Development, to address the housing needs of People Living with HIV/AIDS who are some of our most vulnerable citizens. The agency offers two additional housing programs funded by the Department of Health for individuals with chronic illnesses and HIV. The other two programs offer long-term and short-term sub-sidies and focus on securing supports for individuals with mental health and substance use challenges. About 150 indi-viduals were helped through these programs last year with subsidies, first month’s rent and security deposits, utility and rental arrear assistance.

Susan has been with Catholic Charities Community Services for several years. She lives with an HIV diagnosis. When she first ar-rived, she presented a long history of drug abuse and prostitution and had floated in and out of homelessness most of her adult life. Along the path of her difficult journey, Susan lost custody of her two children who were subsequently adopted by a family member and lost her oldest son to street violence.

Using the Housing First model, Catholic Charities Community Services arranged for Susan to find suitable housing and at the same time, begin her long journey toward recovery. For the first time in her life, Susan began to count her recovery time in months and not days.

With her basic needs met, Susan began to focus on her personal goal to get her high school equivalency diploma. She worked hard and as her clean time continued to grow, Susan got her diploma and is now in college getting her Associates Degree. While Susan continues to receive housing assistance, she is look-ing forward to and moving toward self-sustainability. Susan is now visiting her children with the hope of future family reunification.

Catholic Charities of Wayne County

Begun in 2005, La Casa provides transitional housing with supportive services for local farmworkers and their families. Putting to good use the four-unit property located in Sodus, NY, the agency provides relief for many who would other-wise have to sleep in the fields or in their cars, or face other severe hardships. A typical stay is 60-90 days, while residents strive to find more permanent lodging and/or other support services locally. Operating costs and rents for residents are subsidized gratefully by local foundations and many caring and generous donors.

At La Casa the agency strives to serve others within the mission of the Church. The property is a place of healing and welcome for farmworkers who are poor, sick, or injured and who need a clean, supportive environment in which to become stable. It is a place where efforts are made to fulfill the command to ‘feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and welcome the stranger”.

Ongoing activities and goals for La Casa include: providing transitional housing for migrant individuals/families in emer-gency situations from the 12 county Diocese; providing re-ferrals to health, education, and social services for residents; providing opportunities for bridge building between the lo-cal community, local churches, and visiting farmworkers; and

Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes

The rural communities of the Finger Lakes region are not immune to the growing problem of homelessness. In many ways, these communities are more vulnerable, lacking the necessary resources such as mass shelters as a temporary yet critical response to homelessness, as well as having lim-ited areas of settlement, where the homeless population might congregate as a means of setting up makeshift camps. As a result, it is difficult to sufficiently quantify the problem, and is challenging to develop long-term and meaningful solu-tions to the problem.

In Ontario County, just in the month of March, Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes staff worked directly with more than 105 homeless individuals. Through a partnership with the Ontario County Department of Social Services, agency staff are assigned to work directly with homeless individuals that present to the local DSS requesting emergency assis-tance. Speaking at a recent program update meeting, Car-men Head-Martinez stated that the problem is hard. “With no place to place individuals, we are forced to house indi-viduals and families in motels that aren’t sufficient to long term accommodations. But what choice do we have?” Of the more than 100 individuals presenting, only 19 had se-cured permanent housing by the month’s end.

The Agency’s Homeless Coordinator for Cayuga Coun-ty echoed her colleague’s concern. “While there are some emergency resources in Cayuga County, they are more of-ten than not, at capacity. We are doubling up individuals in emergency motel placements, and trying hard to work with them to identify and overcome barriers to permanent hous-ing. For many, there is no immediate assistance in sight.”

Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes takes an active role in the regional efforts to address housing and homelessness in the communities it serves. Their efforts, as active mem-bers of local housing tasks forces, stem from identifying the population, both in terms of numbers and characteristics, as well as working on addressing the factors that contrib-ute to homelessness. On a cold night in January, staff from the agency joined colleagues from other area human ser-vice agencies and scores of volunteers to span out across the four counties looking for evidence of homelessness, and attempting to link individuals with emergency assistance. The effort requires creativity. Lacking established home-less camps, underpasses and other places generally associ-ated with the homeless, the teams of volunteers spent time combing state parks, parking lots, secluded lake road and businesses that provide 24-hour services such as laundro-mats, truck stops and more. Coming upon truck campers housing people in parking lots, recreational vehicles with no access to electric and water, and individuals using the local library as a refuge during the day, the volunteers provided care packs put together by Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes, and worked to encourage the individuals to seek assis-tance from our available resources. To be sure, the evidence was there. What was lacking is the solution to the problem of homelessness in our rural communities.

Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga Counties

Two years ago, Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga (CCTT) and other social service agencies in Tompkins County launched one of the first “Coordinated Assessment Teams” in the country, at the direction of the federal Hous-ing and Urban Development agency. This effort is directed at insuring there is “no wrong door out of homelessness”, meaning that every agency to which a homeless person might turn for housing should be able to help, so that the

Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler Counties

On the surface, April Mace’s life looked perfect. A good job and education from Cornell University, a family and a home she owned. The truth is, April was secretly miserable. “I was in a lot of abusive relationships at the time,” April recalls. “I was very un-happy. I tried drugs for the first time.” For April, drugs were all too consuming and within a year of starting, she found herself committing a crime and spending a year in jail. For a girl that had always done the “right thing”, jail was truly her turning point.

April’s release from jail was not smooth, as most parolees ex-perience. She had no support system, nowhere to go and found herself living on the streets. “It was just really scary,” says April. “The unknown was scary.” It was this fear that finally brought April to Catholic Charities’ Second Place East Homeless Shelter. Catholic Charities not only provided April with emergency shelter, food and referrals for housing and other community services… they made her feel safe. “They make you feel very comfortable, where it’s going to be okay. Like, I’ll be alright, no matter what,” comments April. After over a month in the shelter, April found an apartment, continued to maintain her employment and is now working to rebuild her life.

Catholic Charities of Livingston County

Earlier this year I was afforded the privilege of assisting Claire (name changed to protect confidentiality) in her search for hous-ing in Livingston County. Claire is a single mother of two children whose home was foreclosed on due to financial troubles after her divorce. Losing her home meant that Claire also lost the hair-care business she had built within her home. At the time that Claire’s case was referred to me she and her children were living out of a local hotel, struggling to find a permanent place of residence. It was particularly hard for Claire given that she had never rented before (having owned her own house for her entire life), and negotiating a fair lease was something that she knew little about. Livingston County is a very difficult county to secure a rental in, as there are simply a very small number of rental properties on the market at any given moment. Given the lack of supply and the high demand, competition for the rentals available is fierce, and one can easily see how difficult Claire’s situation was given that she was living in a hotel without income. When Claire and I began working together she had been living in that hotel and searching for housing for over a month, without receiving a single returned call from a prospective landlord.

That’s where Catholic Charities of Livingston County’s Emer-gency Housing Services came into the picture. We can provide homeless families with a full house or apartment to reside in, while we assist them in overcoming the hurdles involved in find-ing permanent housing in this area. I helped Claire move into our location in Mt. Morris, pictured below. Offering Claire this temporary housing ensured that she was able to provide her children with space to play in and cook full meals for them, as opposed to continuing to eat breakfast lunch and dinner from a microwave in a hotel. Within 30 days Claire had secured a job, and put down first and last month’s rent on a brand new trailer, illustrating how some assistance and stability can help someone turn a difficult situation around. We negotiated a repayment plan on the utilities debt she had acquired during her period of financial instability, and secured all furniture needed for her new residence. I was able to assist her in finding daycare services for her children for the days where she worked weekends, and provided her with healthy food from the Mt. Morris Food Pan-try while she resided in Catholic Charities Emergency Housing facility.

We met multiple times a week to go over what leads on rentals we found in the area, and Claire went from receiving not a single call back from local landlords, to having her pick of 3 different rental properties before she decided on the location where she resides now. Today Claire has permanent shelter and a full time job, and is a long way from being homeless living out of a local hotel. It was an honor to be able to help her along the way.

— Elijah Truth, Emergency Housing Counselor

championing the productive work goals of comprehensive immigration reform.

In the summer of 2017, through the generous support of local benefactors and foundations, the agency was able to place a new roof on the building and fully repair and re-paint the exterior. La Casa is now well positioned to be a model of good service in the local farmworker community for many years into the future!

crisis and trauma. Regulatory changes have required an increase in staff at

shelters with children, and subject the shelter to a licensing process of a year or more before reimbursement at a proper rate begins.

There is an increase in unreimbursed or underfunded stays in shelters.

Carol Wheeler, who serves as director of housing for the City of Rochester, is a strong advocate for the homeless in our city, and has said that the community is blessed to have CFC. “When it comes to the things that are taking place in Rochester as it relates to the homeless and providing service to them, Catholic Family Center is always right there to lend their expertise and their support,” Wheeler said. “And they get results.”

Despite each of her obstacles, April says in a sense, she’s one of the lucky ones. “I’m happier now than I ever was before in my life and that’s why people think I’m kind of crazy,” says April. “But I am. I really am, because I’m who I am. I’m me. I’m working for what I need. I’ve had a really rough run of it since I was born and right now, I don’t have that.”

April Mace

client doesn’t have to go from place to place. In coalition with the county Department of Social Services, the local do-mestic violence shelter and other agencies, Catholic Chari-ties participates in keeping a shared list of people who are currently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. All the agencies can place people on this “CAT” list; the agencies also indicate when there is an opening in their respective housing programs. This way those who are most vulnerable can get priority help, and all agencies can work together on solving clients’ needs. This effort has greatly streamlined the process of getting people housed.

Catholic Charities is proud to say that its own transitional housing program for single homeless women, called “A Place to Stay”, celebrated its 2nd anniversary this past spring. The lovely rented home near the agency office that can house up to four guests at a time in a safe, serene setting; staff also provides guests with support and guidance to get their lives on a better track.

CCTT was prompted to start this program by trying to serve clients like “Caitlin”. Caitlin was a young mother who knew she was drinking too much and had to get out of her housing situation in order to stop. Because she was low income but still employed and not homeless, no low-cost housing program was readily available to her. Within a short time, the bottom fell out of her world. She was arrested for DWI and lost custody of her child.

A few months after she first came to Catholic Charities, Cait-lin became one of our first guests at A Place to Stay and started to turn her life around.

Since 2016 Catholic Charities has hosted 19 women, some for a few weeks, others for many months. Thanks to this housing and the support services offered with it, guests have gone on to secure their own independent housing, find employment, stay drug-free, reconcile with their families, and advance their education.

bills, gave out 600 weatherization kits, and served over 7,700 households at food pantries.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) in Steuben Coun-ty is the first line of defense for anyone who is homeless, they hold the Steps to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) grant. Contracting with the County Catholic Charities can elimi-nate issues that might prevent someone finding shelter. For example, if someone comes to the agency who is homeless and staff cannot get them to DSS by closing time or DSS is closed, they are housed with STEHP funds for the night, giving them bus tokens or gas cards so they can meet with DSS the following day.

In 2017, the agency served 157 homeless people. This is not the total picture of homelessness in Steuben County, how-ever. The exact number of people who are homeless tends to be underreported as it is difficult to measure the number of people who might be staying with family or friends, in hopes of finding a permanent place to live. Many of these people don’t view themselves as homeless.

Regardless of the circumstances causing homelessness, the staff works to help stabilize families and individuals’ lives as they work toward regaining self-sufficiency. Safety nets are meant to be safe guards against adversity. Turning Point staff offer hope through services and referrals to other agencies, providing the net of safety people need when they’re looking to stabilize their lives.

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1150 Buffalo Rd. • Rochester, NY 14624

® Copyright 2018 by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. All rights reserved.

SPRING 2018

A Q UA R T E R LY P R O G R E S S R E P O R T F R O M C AT H O L I C C H A R I T I E S O F T H E D I O C E S E O F R O C H E S T E R

Inside this Issue: Addressing H

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The Eucharist commits us to the poor

Regional Roundup continued from page 3

In this Year of the Eucharist in the Diocese of Rochester parish social ministry volunteers and staff were reminded during their recent Social Ministry Conference held at Notre Dame Retreat House on April 26 that the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist commits us to the poor”(#1397).

Appropriately, the conference began with the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy led by Father Jim Hewes. In ad-dition to preaching at the Liturgy Father Hewes also led a workshop entitled “Consistent Life Ethic: Solidarity in the Body of Christ.”

After lunch, Gioviana Caroscio gave the keynote address on “Spirituality, Poverty, and the Eucharist”. Giovina drew on her rich background of 24 years of service with Catholic

Charities and her 14 years on the staff of the Mercy Spiritu-ality Center in Rochester.

Two flights of workshops addressed how parish leaders can respond to the issues of immigration, abortion expan-sion in NY State, the opioid crisis, sustainable energy, the Farm Bill, and how to be more effective in speaking with those seeking assistance.

The planners of the conference tried a new format for sharing 11 different “success stories from the parishes”. Each of the 11 success stories were offered simultaneously and lasted 15 minutes before the participant moved on to the next table for another 15 minute conversation. The cy-cle was repeated three times in the last 45 minutes of the conference.

There is a common misperception that the only loca-tion in the Diocese of Rochester which has a significant homeless population is the City of Rochester.

Unfortunately, the reality is far different. The Diocese of Rochester has a significant homeless population through-out its twelve county region, including single men, women and children and families. There is a significant homeless population in urban areas, rural communities and even suburban townships.

Through its unique decentralized structure, Catholic Charities is well positioned to address the needs of the homeless in all corners of the Diocese.

It is the purpose of this newsletter to give an overview of the efforts of Catholic Charities to address homeless-ness in the 12 county Diocese.

Two important statistics best summarize these efforts. While not all this assistance directly addressed the prob-lem of homelessness, much of it indirectly helped pre-vent homelessness. In 2017, Catholic Charities provided some type of emergency assistance to 33,000 individuals throughout the Diocese. More directly related to pre-venting homelessness, in 2017, Catholic Charities provided $1.1 million in rental assistance to 1,150 families.

Summarized here is an overview of the many approach-es to homelessness which Catholic Charities has devel-oped over the years. The individual agency articles provide more detail about these various programs.

Of course, at the center of all these efforts is the work of Providence Housing Development Corporation which was created in 1994 to “develop and manage safe affordable housing for low income individuals and families, senior citizens and the special needs population.”

Over the last twenty-four years, Providence has devel-oped 23 different housing projects in the Diocese with a total construction value of more than $130 million. Provi-dence manages 24 different projects serving over 1,500 individuals. In addition, in conjunction with other case management agencies, Providence provides a number of programs focused directly on homelessness: Shelter Plus Care, Veterans Permanent Housing Program, Suburban Supportive Housing Initiative, OTDA Support Grant for

Son House, City of Rochester Emergency Shelter Grant, and a Monroe County Office of Mental Health Grant, among others.

Because homelessness is indeed a significant problem in the City of Rochester and Monroe County, homelessness services are an important part of the work of Catho-lic Family Center (Catholic Charities of Monroe County).

Catholic Family Center is the largest provider of services in Monroe County, operating three shelters: Francis Center for men, Sanctuary House for women and families with children and Place of Hope for single women, women with children and intact families. In 2017, these three shelters served 2,688 people, 26% of whom were children. The two shelters for women and children or families served 1,676, 42% of whom were children.

Catholic Charities Community Services embrac-es the Housing First approach to combat homelessness in the community. Housing First is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before addressing other needs such as getting a job, budgeting their resources or attending to substance abuse issues. Catholic Charities Community Services pro-vides three programs for homeless persons: through a grant from the City of Rochester, a program to address the housing needs of People Living with HIV/AIDS; a program that offers long-term and short-term subsidies; and a pro-gram which focuses on securing supports for individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues. Last year, 150 individuals were helped through their programs.

Moving clockwise from Monroe County through the 12 county Diocese, since 2006, Catholic Charities of Wayne County has provided transitional housing with support services for local farmworkers and their families. La Casa, a four unit property located in Sodus, provides relief for men who sleep in fields or their cars. Typical stay is 60-90 days, while residents strive to find more perma-nent housing and/or support services. Operating costs are subsidized by local foundations and many caring and generous donors.

Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes has Home-

less Coordinators in both Ontario and Cayuga County. In Ontario County, typically case management services are provided to 100 individuals per month. The coordinator in Cayuga County has expressed a concern about the need for emergency resources.

A Place to Stay is a signature program of Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga. As its contribution to the Tompkins County “Coordinated Assessment Team” ini-tiative, this lovely home near the agency’s office can house up to four guests at a time in a safe, secure setting, while providing guests with support and guidance to get their lives on a better track.

Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler Coun-ties serves the homeless through the Second Place East Shelter and a variety of residential programs for persons experiencing mental illness. In 2017, 324 were served at Second Place East and 368 participated in the other resi-dential programs.

The SNAP (food stamp) outreach program of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier is an important vehicle in preventing homelessness, because this source of food al-lows use of a households’ limited funds for rent. In 2017, 180 households participated in the SNAP outreach pro-gram.

The Turning Point program of Catholic Charities of Steuben has developed innovative and effective ways to identify, reach out, and serve those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. One such approach is through the Mobile Turning Point initiative, in which staff provides service at multiple food pantries. In 2017, the agency iden-tified and served 157 homeless people.

A staple of the services of Catholic Charities of Liv-ingston County for more than 20 years has been the Emergency Housing Services program. Catholic Charities rents an apartment in Mt. Morris and one in Dansville to provide temporary housing, while staff works with client families to find more permanent housing and support ser-vices.

There are many faces of homelessness in our Dio-cese. Catholic Charities has a wide variety of effective approaches to addressing their needs.

Catholic Charities Takes ManyApproaches To Addressing Homelessness

Food Bank of the Southern Tier

What’s it like to live in poverty in the Southern Tier? To stifle your pride and accept help to make ends meet? How do you feed yourself for $6 a day?

Wendy can tell you. She is a food pantry client and a gradu-ate of the Food Bank’s Speakers Bureau. Wendy is a Food Bank advocate and she wants to clear up some stereotypes about people who need food assistance to get by.

Wendy was a 23-year-old college student when she sus-tained a traumatic brain injury at work. She was left with debilitating headaches from spinal fluid pooling in her brain. Despite chronic pain and nausea, Wendy completed a bach-elor’s degree in Human and Community Services and began working with a women’s and children’s program. But multiple brain surgeries kept her from pursuing that passion. Wendy will require surgeries for the rest of her life to control her condition.

Now, Wendy, 50, lives on $825 per month from Supple-mental Security Income (SSI) and $192 from SNAP, formerly called Food Stamps. Wendy is frustrated by the stereotype that people who need government assistance don’t want to work, and that recipients are living easy, leisurely lives.

“Even if I could only earn $1,000 a month working, I’d trade it in a minute if I could be healthy,” she says. “Anyone who’s on SNAP would give it up if they could have a job that met their needs.”

Wendy’s fulltime job is maintaining her health; she has at least three doctor’s appointments a week. Every surgery leaves Wendy less ability to focus, organize and concentrate. She struggles with anxiety, depression and intense fatigue.

Wendy’s story is common among people relying on SNAP and other social assistance programs. Nearly 3 million New Yorkers use SNAP. The majority of SNAP recipients in New York state are children, elderly or disabled, with just 12 per-cent of recipients who are non-disabled, non-elderly adults not living with children.

Most SNAP recipients who can work do so. Among SNAP households with at least one working-age, non-disabled adult, more than half work while receiving SNAP. According to Cen-sus data, more than half of able adults receive SNAP for less than two years.

Federal assistance programs cover Wendy’s rent in low-income housing, utilities and groceries. Medicaid covers her medical needs; her former employer does not, although she was hurt on the job. Wendy has learned to live very simply, and she budgets every dollar carefully.

“I’m a bit of a counter, so I keep track of things,” Wendy says. She knows exactly how long a bottle of shampoo is likely to last and how many rolls of toilet paper she’ll need in a month. She knows the best prices on whole milk and dairy products, and the price differential between buying or making her own yogurt and cottage cheese.

Wendy also relies on local pantries and low-cost farm

Camp Stella Maris

As a ministry of the Diocese of Rochester, Camp Stella Maris is committed to serving all God’s children through the joyful experience of Summer Camp. CSM works closely with Diocesan and Social Service agencies to provide camp schol-arships (camperships) to children whose families are in fi-nancial hardship. For these kids, a week at summer camp can aid in their development of self-confidence, social skills, and self-esteem. While a week a Camp alone won’t dramatically change the outlook for impoverished children, even limited opportunities for growth, increased self-esteem and lessons in positive decision-making tactics are highly beneficial to their young lives.

shares. She prepares and freezes vegetables to get through the winter.

After her bills are paid and basic needs met, Wendy has about $25 left over per week for unexpected expenses and an occasional splurge, like lunch out with a friend or a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Sometimes, she’ll budget $7 for a pound of shrimp that she can use in four meals.

It’s important to Wendy that people know she wouldn’t survive without the vital support she receives, and that she doesn’t take it for granted.

“As for getting rich off benefits, I must be doing it wrong because I don’t have a lot extra of anything,” Wendy says. “Most people who receive help wonder all the time about how anyone could get rich off the system. Most of this ‘free money’ goes right to my landlord and utility bills.”

A reduction in SNAP benefits would mean more visits to food pantries, less nutritious food, and being a little hungry sometimes. As things are, Wendy says, “My needs are met and my wants are few.”

Catholic Charities touches the lives of 250,000 people in the 12 County Diocese

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