Collaborating with other Ministries is Essential

On January 1, 2010, we celebrated a new year and the beginning of a new decade. New beginnings are exciting – we have the opportunity to set new goals, have a fresh start and look at new possibilities. But there is no doubt that we also carry with us the challenges of the past and what challenges we have faced as a nation, a state and a Diocese.

Many of the new challenges we are facing in 2010 are the result of the prolonged economic recession. In October, 2009, our Angels of Hope Food Pantry fed more people than in any other month in our history: 719 households or 2,637 people. More people called for rent, mortgage and utility assistance than ever before. And we are not alone. Catholic Charities USA conducted a survey and received responses from 74 Catholic Charities agencies from around the country and covers the third quarter of 2009. The survey indicated that 70 percent of agencies saw an increase in demand for food stamps; 85 percent reported increased requests for rent or mortgage assistance; and 42 percent saw an increase in demand for counseling and mental health services. According to Fr. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA, the driving force behind the increased demand is the loss of jobs; noting not only the high unemployment in urban areas like Detroit but also the diminishing number of jobs in rural areas.

We can’t meet all the needs that come to us. That’s why collaborating with other Catholic ministries like St. Vincent de Paul, Mary Catholic Worker House, Mobile Loaves & Fishes and Vincare, to name a few, is very important. But with your help and the help of our partners, we can continue to strengthen families by providing help and hope to our brothers and sisters here in the Diocese of Austin. Thanks for all you do to serve Christ and the Church through your ministry at Catholic Charities.

I hope that 2010 is a great year for all of us!

‘The Poor Will Always Be With Us’ Means What?

The Nobel Prize laureate Muhammod Yanus wrote a book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, in which he places numbers on the face of poverty to help us recognize the size of the situation. The numbers are that 94% of the world’s income goes to 40% of the people. Therefore, 6% of the world income goes to 60% of the people. This means half the world lives on $2 or $1 a day.

Granted poverty is not distributed evenly around the world: specific regions suffer its worst effect. In our part of the world, social progress has had an effect so that only 47 million Americans, or 1/6th of the population, or 16.6%, endure poverty as opposed to the 60% average in the world where local figures become global figures.

As a Catholic, what are we to do? Jesus’ remark about the poor always will be with us is often taken out of context. It was not a remark to resign that whatever we do to eradicate poverty will be futile. He gave us His plan to eradicate poverty in that passage. (Matthew 26: 6-13). The back story is that a woman brought an expensive ointment and poured it over Jesus’ head. A practical disciple thought it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus instructed those listening with a text and subtext that the woman had used her resource well. She had prepared Him for His burial, but the subtext was that she used what she had to praise God.

If we implement this message into the poverty we encounter in our community, on the street corner, with the unemployed sitting at a computer looking for work, in the children who are void of but developing skills, we see His directive. We are to build and honor skills. We are to pay our children for babysitting, for they used their capabilities well to serve others and in the end a greater Good. We are to appreciate and buy crafts of those struggling to be a part of the supportive commerce system. Afterall, Nike began as a product being sold from the trunk of a car. We help those struggling to use their skills to support themselves and be an integral part of the whole of commerce. It’s the little supportive actions that make a lasting impression. We are the small alabaster jar that holds the precious actions that will flow over God in praise when we help build, honor, pay, buy, use a skill, craft, service, or resource correctly --- be it ours or others.

Carol Ikard
Board Member, Catholic Charities of Central Texas

Catholic Charities - Hope for Haiti Fundraiser - Saturday, Jan 23rd., 1pm

Catholic Charities of Central Texas is partnering with five local bands to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Catholic Charities invites all to attend the Hope for Haiti Fundraiser. This wonderful family friendly fundraiser is open to everyone; we ask that you please consider making a small donation to help the earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti. Bring the family, hang out with friends and neighbors, and enjoy live music from local artists.


Event:
HOPE FOR HAITI Fundraiser

Location:
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
1817 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78702

Date/ Time:
Sat. January 23, 2010 1pm – 4pm

Entrance Fee:
A $5 dollar donation is suggested which will go directly to Haiti relief efforts.
Open to all ages.

Parking:
Street Parking

Seating:
Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets.

Musicians:
The event features local artists;

· Ryan Young - 1pm
· Margo Valiante - 1:30pm
· about:blank - 2pm
· Akina Adderley - 2:30pm
· Los Texas Wranglers - 3pm



All proceeds from this event will go directly to Catholic Relief Services for their ongoing disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Relief efforts already in progress include mobilization of food and deployment of pre-positioned emergency shelters, hygiene kits, as well as bringing supplies in from the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Donations Needed for Families in Haiti

The island nation of Haiti has been ravaged by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake resulting in many deaths and destruction of buildings.

“We extend our prayers and concerns to all those who have been so tragically impacted by this disaster,” said Cynthia Colbert, executive director of Catholic Charities of Central Texas. “We are encouraging donations to be made directly to Catholic Relief Service, the international response agency of the Roman Catholic Church, so that they can respond to this terrible disaster.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation through Catholic Charities of Central Texas can donate at www.ccctx.org but are encouraged to give directly to Catholic Relief Services that has already begun the recovery effort through its offices and workers in the small island nation.

Emergency briefings from Catholic Relief Services report an initial commitment of 5 million dollars for immediate use in the relief effort. Catholic Relief Services is geared up for major emergency response and is mobilizing food and deployment of pre-positioned emergency shelter and hygiene kits in Haiti, as well as bringing supplies in from the neighboring Dominican Republic.


HOW TO HELP:

Donate online:
www.ccctx.org

By Mail:
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
c/o Haiti Earthquake
1817 East 6th Street
Austin, Texas 78702


Donate online:
www.crs.org

By Mail:
Catholic Relief Services
c/o Haiti Earthquake
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Maryland 21203-7090


Catholic Charities of Central Texas encourages support of Catholic Relief Services (CRS); those interested in donation to the CRS relief efforts for Haiti, should call (410) 625-2220 or 1-800-736-3467 or visit their Web site at http://www.crs.org.

What is it like to have your electricity or your gas turned off because you couldn’t pay the past due bill?

What is it like to have your electricity or your gas turned off because you couldn’t pay the past due bill?

When your power is turned off, you try to stay warm with added clothes and more blankets. But how do you cook? How do you keep your food refrigerated? How do you warm water? How do you provide for your children?

Many families seek help by calling a local St. Vincent de Paul Council, 211 Texas, a local community agency or Catholic Charities to get assistance. Often, they have to call multiple agencies or churches to get the assistance they need, only to be told, “We are out of funds for the month. Contact us again next month.”

With the extreme heat this summer, many families are still coping with previous utility bills and this is now worsened by the arrival of harsher weather.

Many ministries, like St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities, report that the number of people requesting help is up significantly from last year. With rises in unemployment and underemployment, families have fewer resources to address their most basic needs—food, heat, and shelter. For our brothers and sister on the streets, the cold weather poses even more difficulties as they require blankets, coats, socks, shoes and other clothing items to help them stay warm.

As a board member of Catholic Charities, I know first hand, the difference that we can make by helping people during these cold, winter months.

As you know, we are experiencing record cold weather here in Central Texas with low temperatures in the twenties in most places. This is definitely a time we need to help our brothers and sisters who are out of work, or low income, in order to assist with utility payments or heaters.

We cannot allow people to be left freezing in their homes, especially children, elderly and those with illnesses, when we are warm in the comfort of our homes.

Please join me in making a contribution online now at http://ccctx.org/donate_online.php

Requests for assistance are increasing and coming in daily. Your help will make a big difference to a family.

Thank you,

Art Borrego
Treasurer, Board of Directors
Catholic Charities of Central Texas

January is Poverty Awareness Month – What Is the Lord Calling You to Do?

In November of 2009, the U.S. Census released updated data through the American Community Survey (ACS) which provides updated population and demographic projections for most communities in the United States. The 3-year estimates showed that a large percentage of people in our nation, state and Diocese lived at or below the federal poverty line in 2008. In the U.S, this was 13.2% of the population and in Texas; the number was even higher at 16.3%

Since our agency is focused on the 25 counties that comprise the Diocese of Austin, I decided to find out what the number would be for our service area, so I created a spreadsheet using the 2008 American Communities Survey Data from the U.S. Census. It was an eye-opening, to say the least. Here is what I found.


SNAP SHOT OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES SERVICE AREA

Of all 25 counties of the Diocese of Austin:

• 24 of the 25 counties had double digit poverty rates of 10% or higher
• 18 or 72% of our counties have poverty rates that met or exceeded the national average and,
• the overall average for the Diocese is almost 15%.

Below is a chart that lists all 25 counties in our Diocese, with the corresponding population and percentages of individuals living below the poverty level.

(Note, for those that have an *, ACS survey data is not available, so I had to use 2000 Census data.)





SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE AT OR BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL?

In 2009, the federal poverty guidelines for individuals and families are listed below.





HOW DO THESE STATISTICS TRANSLATE?

Let’s say you are a single Mom with two young children getting paid:

• $12.00 an hour
• 40 hours/ week

That means you make:

• $480.00 per week
• or $24,960 per year gross income.

As you can see by the chart above, this young mother makes more than the Federal Poverty Level:

• $6,650 more than the Federal Poverty Level
• That is 136% above the Federal Poverty Level.

Wow. She should be doing great, right? Well, let’s see. She has to pay:

• 15% of her take home pay for payroll taxes and her own health insurance costs;
  She is left with $21,200 per year or about $1,760 per month.


• $800 for rent of a two bedroom apartment so she can live in a safe neighborhood and have access to good public schools;
  That leaves her with $960 left.


• $350 for her car loan payment;
  She is left with $660.


• $300/month for her child care;
  She is left with $360.

That leaves her with only $360!

She still has to purchase food, medicine, gas for the car, utilities, clothes and shoes for the children, etc. Whew! It’s a chore, right?

Every month, making hard choices; hoping the car doesn’t break down, hoping that gas, utility and rent doesn’t increase, hoping that no one has to go to the hospital or the emergency room. And remember, she lives above the federal poverty level. Yikes!

SERVING THE LEAST AMONG US

Saint Francis is one of our favorite Saints in the Catholic Church. What an example he is to us in our ministry to serve the poor and vulnerable. In fact, he was called “the little poor man of Assisi.” Francis was born in the year 1182 in the town of Assisi in Italy. His father's name was Bernadone and he was a very wealthy merchant of Assisi. Francis was brought up in luxury and gaiety. One day Francis was joking and laughing with his friends. A beggar came along crying for alms. Francis, who was soft-hearted, gave whatever he had in his pocket to the beggar. His companions probably mocked at him for his charitable act (it just wasn’t politically correct in those days…). The sight of the beggar set him thinking about poverty and misery, so he started to give more money to the poor and eventually formed a community of brothers that we know today as the Franciscans. Francis completely changed his life around and focused on serving those, who Jesus referred to, as “the least among us.” As a result of this change, he lost his family and his old friends, but gained God’s blessing and favor because he heard and responded to the Gospel call to reach out and serve others.

I often pray about my life, my calling and the ministry of Catholic Charities. Perhaps my life change or my spiritual awakening is not as drastic as that of St. Francis, but I like to think that I am following in his footsteps by trying my best to listen to God in my life. He asks me to stop, listen, and respond. So I take our mission at Catholic Charities very personally and very seriously. Our tag line reads: “Providing Help and Creating Hope.” What does that mean? To us, it means that every person is valued and loved and we provide what means we can to help someone right where they are in life and help them get in a better place. Sometimes it’s a bag of groceries. Sometimes it’s filing a petition so a wife can be reunited with her husband from another country. Sometimes it’s paying part of someone’s rent or utility bill. Sometimes, we don’t have the resources though, so its being kind, its sharing a hug an encouraging word and/or helping them access the services of another ministry, like St. Vincent de Paul or another community agency that has resources we lack.

Bishop Streib, from the Diocese of Memphis, is quoted as saying, “We know that we should give love to the persons who are poor because we are called by the Gospel to do just that.” This call comes from Jesus, who “helped people who were poor” and who “always lifted up individuals as he ministered to them,” the bishop added. “And that is our task also.”

The Bishop commented, “We look at the poor not in a way our society often does — as just one more person who has not pulled himself up by his own bootstraps — but instead as human beings who were created in God’s image the exact same way we were. We treat each poor person as unique; and when we do, we imitate Jesus.”

So, January is poverty awareness month. I ask you to really look, and really listen. What is God leading you to do today?