2021-2022 Secretariat Annual Report |
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Catholic Charities Bloomington |
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Story from Associate Clinical Director, Becki Hilas MSW, LSW about one of her clients.
Bria* is a teenager who came to Catholic Charities in the spring of 2021. At the time, Bria was struggling with grief and loss from the traumatic deaths of her pets. She was also coping with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing severe anxiety symptoms. Bria had sensory sensitivity and intrusive thoughts that caused panic attacks and made mundane tasks such as laundry or a trip to the grocery store almost unbearable.
Throughout the course of our work together, Bria has been able to face and process her grief through words and artwork and come to accept the loss. She has also been able to create multiple positive social relationships with peers at school and has even accepted a leadership position in her final year of high school. Bria has also overcome most of her sensory sensitivity and has been able to work successfully at a part time job. Bria has identified a career she wants to go in and is already working towards that career by taking classes while she finishes high school.
Bria will graduate this spring and is proud to acknowledge how far she has come. She has a vision for her future, and truly believes she is worthy of good things. Bria is no longer afraid to ask for what she needs and work for what she wants. She has learned healthy coping skills, how to regulate her nervous system to feel calmer, and how to trust her own intuition. It has been an honor working with Bria. I know her future is going to be beautiful.
*Name changed to protect client identity.
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Melissa came to Becky’s Place after finding herself in legal trouble and not having a safe place to go. Melissa had not been living a productive, healthy lifestyle for years but was ready to learn now.
Melissa had guilt about her past and often couldn’t find nice things to say about herself. She had never addressed past trauma or started to heal. Melissa began to work on healing by meeting with a therapist and talking with the Becky’s Place staff about her past. She attended and hosted group meetings for residents. She started meeting goals like paying off old debts, learning boundaries, saving money, and attending work regularly. Melissa was proud of herself when she saved $1,000.
Melissa was approved for an apartment and will be moving to a stable and safe environment. She has been promoted at her job and completed the steps to get her drivers license back. She said the structure and accountability, along with the genuine care of staff, helped her achieve goals that she hasn’t been able to do for over 20 years.
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Catholic Charities Indianapolis |
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The School Social Work Program is comprised of 24 master’s level social workers and counselors who serve 29 Catholic schools in Indianapolis and the surrounding area. These dedicated counselors provide a wide array of services including individual and small group counseling, classroom guidance, collaboration with teachers and administrators, family support services, school crisis intervention and more. Here is one example of the impact they are having on their students.
Anna* struggled to control her emotions and was frequently asked to leave her classroom. She had experienced several traumatic incidents in her past which caused her to act out physically towards students and teachers. Anna’s family had some personal obstacles, so she worked with a school counselor during the day. After months of daily role-playing and modeling healthy communication, Anna’s negative behaviors decreased. She began having “good days” when she was able to stay in class and not be disruptive which led to “good weeks”. Anna was able to complete the school year and is ready for success. Learn more at helpcreatehope.org.
*Name changed to protect client identity.
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St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities |
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St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities started the Domestic Violence Transitional Housing and Rapid Rehousing program in 2021 with funding from Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA). St. Elizabeth provides the next steps of support once the immediate crisis of domestic violence is stabilized. With the funding from IHCDA, up to five families can be housed and stay for up to 2 years. For those who need Rapid Rehousing, the program can assist a family financially with up to 1 year of rent. One of those mothers shared how the program has impacted her family.
Kelly came to St Elizabeth’s after her and her daughter had nowhere else to go. Having left a domestic violence situation, Kelly was nervous to go to her court dates, or even the grocery. The fear of her abuser harassing her or even taking her daughter was more than she could handle. Kelly spent about six months in the transitional housing program, attending case management sessions, and receiving support for her daughter. After a few months, Kelly began a job and was quickly promoted. Kelly was able to get on her feet and sign a lease on a new apartment. Her daughter is excelling in school, and they have found hope. St. Elizabeth provided a stable environment with safety and support allowing this family to have a new start. Learn more at stecharities.org
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Catholic Charities Tell City |
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Catholic Charities Tell City has received a United Way Grant for the emergency assistance program this year. Emergency assistance will help those facing a crisis to pay rent and bills so that they can stay in their homes.
The Perry Count Food Coalition has received several grants as well. The Community Foundation of Perry County awarded a $15,000 grant to purchase food. The Kramer Charitable Fund also awarded a $5,000 grant is to purchase food for the 5 food pantries in Perry County. These funds will allow our pantries to purchase some much-needed food to help our folks in the Food Pantries of Perry County. Catholic Charities is the financial over seer of the Perry Count Food Coalition. Learn more on their website.
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Catholic Charities Terre Haute |
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Amy took custody of her niece and nephew in 2021. The children’s mother is an addict and unable to care for them. Amy was referred to Ryves Youth Center by Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. She started to bring the children to our youth programming in March 2021, shortly after it reopened from the pandemic. During this time, Amy became homeless. She and the children had been living in their van and sleeping over at friends’ houses when the weather was bad. In May 2022, the Department of Child Services met with Amy at Ryves where she was told that she needed to find stable housing within a week, or the children would be placed in foster care. Catholic Charities staff collaborated and soon Amy and the children found safety and security at Bethany House.
While residing at Bethany House, Amy learned to budget her money and eventually was able to secure new housing. Amy’s family now has their own apartment. The children have been working with the educational volunteers at the Youth Center and have shown improvement in their grades. The children also participate in the TIME for Me mentoring program.
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Ministry Highlight: Protecting Our Children Program
"Children are the joy of the family and society." -Pope Francis
Those under the age of 18 have grown up in a world dominated by social media. We know social media can be used for good, but it is also a world where vulnerabilities are aired publicly, loneliness is revealed, and filters are ignored. Everyone has vulnerabilities. The most common vulnerability is the need to be loved. Authentically loved. Unfortunately, our youth have grown up following popular social media sites where "love" is exhibited as a way to use other people to get what we want...and sexual predators/ human traffickers know this. The number one way youth are lured into sexual exploitation, which often leads to trafficking, is through social media and video gaming. To be able to prevent online sexual exploitation and trafficking of our youth, we need to educate them before a predator/trafficker "educates" them. We need to demonstrate what authentic love is, empower our youth to understand their incredible worth, and how recognize counterfeit love when they see it.
Protecting Our Children is a three-part, 8th-grade program developed by Catholic Charities - Social Concerns to help empower our young people to know their worth is not determined by what they see online or what other people say about them but by knowing and believing that God created them in love, to receive love and to give love. Students learn the difference between authentic love and counterfeit love. We discuss how we can keep ourselves safe from predators and the 7 stages of grooming, and the very real impact of sexual exploitation, sextortion, and human trafficking.
This past school year, 288 eighth-grade students of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis participated in the Protecting Our Children Program from a total of 6 Catholic schools.
For more information, please contact Theresa Chamblee, Director of Social Concerns - Catholic Charities, at tchamblee@archindy.org
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Catholic Charities Terre Haute Quick Quack 5k Trail Run
Date: Saturday, June 17, 2022
Time: 8:00am
Location: Griffin Bike Park
Details: The Quick Quack Trail Run 5k adventure course takes runners over unique obstacles like a floating bridge (alternate route available) and ramps, all while scrambling over rugged trails as they compete for prized rubber duck trophies! The family-friendly event takes place at the beautiful Griffin Bike Park in Vigo County. Registration for the Quick Quack Trail Run includes a Quick Quack shirt, custom race bib, disposable timing chip and the knowledge that you are creating hope in our community. You can get the details and register for the event here
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Catholic Charities Terre Haute Rubber Duck Regatta
Date: Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fairbanks Park
Details: Opening Day of Duck Season for the 5th Annual Wabash Valley Rubber Duck Regatta will be May 22. Learn how you can adopt your ducks to win $10,000 and the chance at $1 million at www.WabashValleyRubberDuckRegatta.com.
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Catholic Charities Indianapolis Christmas Store Open House
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2023
Time: 2:00pm- 4:00pm
Location: 1435 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, 46202
Details: Come and see how the Christmas Store will serve families in need this holiday season. Light summer refreshments will be served. Attendees are asked to bring a new toy for the Christmas Store. Click here for a list of items needed at the Christmas Store.
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Blended Giving
Similar to finding your perfect coffee blend, there is a way to blend your personal philanthropy that is right for you. The idea is that you make a starting gift with a current gift of cash, securities, life insurance or real estate. Then you find the planned gift method, maybe a bequest, charitable trust, or charitable gift annuity, that works best for your situation.
Benefits include: Increasing the impact of your giving to your favorite charitable cause; preserving wealth for you and your family; enjoying greater tax savings; seeing the results of your giving today, and tomorrow.
Interested in a campaign gift, or are you interested in a bequest or multi-year gift? Blended gifts use a variety of giving strategies by combining the power of current and planned gifts which result in helping you achieve your financial, tax and estate goals. For more information, please contact ccf@archindy.org or 317-236-1482.
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David Bethuram
Secretariat Director
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Mark Casper
St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities
Agency Director
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John Etling
Catholic Charities Terre Haute
Agency Director
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Sr. Shellie Intravia
Catholic Charities Tell City
Agency Director
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Corrina Hayes
Becky's Place
Program Director
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Michael Stribling
Catholic Charities Bloomington
Clinical Director
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