Catholic Charities Of The Diocese Of Fort Wayne-South Bend Inc

Programs: Refugee services - reception & placement: this program provides assistance to persons coming to the united states under refugee status as granted by the u. S. Department of state, bureau of population and migration. Catholic charities works in cooperation with the us conference of catholic bishops/migration and refugee services (usccb/mrs) to provide resettlement services. The services include: pre-arrival processing, arrival services, assistance with housing, referrals for medical assistance, medical interpretation, acculturation services, assistance with enrollment in english as a second language classes, assistance with school enrollment for the children, and other educational services as needed. During the year ended june 30, 2017, catholic charities resettled 264 refugees. Refugee health services: the agency has a contract with the state of indiana to coordinate refugee health promotion to ensure refugees obtain medical and mental health services beyond medical screenings which includes access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care. The agency also designs and leads effective and innovative health activities that specifically address identified public health needs among the refugee community. It also increases refugee access for long-term health care. Culturally sensitive interpretation and translation services are also provided for non-english speaking refugees. Additional funding is provided through st. Joseph community health foundation. Match grant program: the match grant program is an employment based, self-sufficiency program. Clients are eligible based upon the criteria of job skills, positive work ethic, family characteristics, and a health evaluation. The match grant program is an alternative program to monetary public assistance that is designed to assist refugees in obtaining self-sufficiency within 4-6 months from date of entry into the united states. Clients eligible to be served under this program are refugees, certain amerasians, cuban and haitian entrants, asylees, and victims of a severe form of human trafficking. Enrollment must be completed within 31 days of eligibility date for the program. This program served 73 refugees in year ending june 30, 2017. Refugee job development: catholic charities has a contract with the state of indiana to provide job training and employment services to all refugees resettled by the agency and those resettled by other voluntary agencies, within five years of arrival into the us. This service is also offered to those who have been granted asylum in the u. S. Services include: job readiness training, work place english, english as a second language (esl), assistance to obtain indiana drivers permits and licensing, assistance with resume writing and the interview process, job recruitment, job placement, job retention, job training, and job referrals. Catholic charities accomplished 400 job placements during the fiscal year ended june 30, 2017. Extended case management program: services include cultural orientation, adult esl classes, life skills, home visits, path to the citizenship classes, long term intensive case management, help with obtaining fssa benefits, assistance with applying for social security benefits, and assistance with other community services to enhance their level of self-sufficiency. Homework help program- homework help provides no cost homework assistance to refugee children living in a fort wayne area apartment complex where many refugee families have setteled. With the support of volunteers and interns from local universities, tutoring services are provided to enhance acacemic adjustment within school settings and social skill for interacting in the community-at-large. This program served 79 children in the year ending june 30, 2017. Immigration services- immigration services are provided throughout the 14 counties within the diocese. The board of immigration appeals (u. S. Department of justice) recognizes catholic charities' immigration services as a program that provides accurate and affordable services to immigrants who seek to adjust their status, reunite with family members, obtain employment authorization, or file other paperwork through the u. S. Citizenship and immigration services. Assistance with naturalization is also available. U. S. Citizenship classes are offered in the fort wayne office. The immigration supervisor has been approved for accreditation since april 7, 2005 as a representative for partial accreditation by the board of immigration appeals. The immigration program also provides training and outreach to other community organizations who work with immigrants and refugees. Trainings include an overview of the necessary steps for an immigration process and steps towards u. S. Citizenship, and the process for conducting and facilitating u. S. Citizenship classes. This is a way to share our passion and vision with other agencies that want to help immigrants and refugees establish u. S. Citizenship. The primary focus of "train the trainers" is to give pertinent information to other organizations in order for them to educate legal permanent residents about the initial qualifications for seeking u. S. Citizenship and to receive resources to successfully conduct citizenship classes. From 07/01/2016 to 06/30/2017, there were 265 immigration consultations completed initial guidance to those seeking immigration assistance was provided. During this same year, 433 immigration applications were filed with the united states citizenship and immigration services (uscis) and the national visa center (nvc), of which 358 were approved and 75 are pending for approval. Our immigration program assisted 65 students through citizenship classes, of which 56 students successfully completed and graduated the course. Catholic charities provides translation services for essential documents for clients throughout the diocese of fort wayne-south bend. Catholic charities staff interprets for clients in the office as needed and translates documents in four languages: spanish, french, portuguese and english. The translation and interpretation program is fee-based. In fiscal year 2017 over 414 documents equivalent to 7010 pages were translated.

family & community services: resource & referral - services are offered by appointment to persons needing help with meeting basic needs: food, clothing, limited housing assistance, utilities, hygiene supplies, and paper products. As part of the agency's program, there is a brief assessment including budgeting activities. Referrals primarily come through catholic parishes, united way's 211 referral program, st. Vincent de paul society, and other non-profit organizations. The fort wayne office provided short term basic needs services to 625 families in fy 2016-2017 and the south bend office served 507 clients in a similar capacity. Food pantries- south bend - the office operates an emergency food pantry for clients who have a household income at or below 185% of the poverty level and residing in st. Joseph county. Households are eligible to receive emergency food assistance once every four weeks. The food pantry is a member agency of the food bank of northern indiana and has a contract to receive usda commodities. The food pantry receives support through private donations, the united way of st. Joseph county, "people gotta eat" (pge) initiative, st. Mary's heritage fund and the emergency food and shelter program. In fiscal year 2016-2017, the south bend area food bank served 11,827 individuals and families. Auburn - the community center of caring food pantry is a member agency of the community harvest food bank of northeast indiana and receives usda commodities to supplement food donated by local community partners. Clients who have household incomes at or below 185% of the poverty level, as mandated by the usda program and residing in dekalb county, are eligible to receive emergency food assistance one time per month. Clients need to have proof of residence in dekalb county, i. E. Utility bill or rent receipt, and may need to provide a photo id card. The food pantry receives support through the united way of dekalb county, the emergency food and shelter program and many local contributors. In 2016- 2017 fiscal year, the food pantry served 17,062 individuals and households. Other seasonal projects offered of the auburn office include: fall/winter coat bank * summer backpack program * vita tax program. Mentoring program funded through the department of justice and a grant through catholic charities usa. The program is for at risk children ages 9 to 17, who have been exposed to or involved with truancy, pregnancy, substance abuse, or gang related issues. Mentors are recruited and trained to work 1 on 1 with a child a minimum of 2 hours a week for at least 1 year. Children and their parents must agree to participate with the mentors and assist in providing updates on school behavior and grades. This program serves dekalb and noble counties. The program matched mentors who served 20 at risk children in fy 16-17. Hispanic health advocacy services- this program is designed to provide interpretation services at medical appointments to the spanish speaking population in the fort wayne area. This program helps prevent the chance of miscommunication during medical treatment. A caseworker accompanies the client to doctors' offices and interprets back and forth between the medical care provider and the client. The program has assisted 119 individuals with 552 appointments during fy 2016-2017. Catholic charities mobile division- a mobile unit that has been designed to serve the needs of our target population where they live, work and go to school is becoming more commonplace around the diocese. The mobile unit conducts rolling research to learn the specific needs of our target population and subsequently to develop effective strategies that address those needs. The mobil unit creates opportunities for local funding through county-specific foundations and investors; establishes collaborative relationships with other agencies, and brings in partners who can address needs that don't fall within the scope of our mission. It is also meant to nurture strategic partnerships with parish communities, expanding awareness of our agency's mission and increasing engagement opportunities with parish members. In fiscal year 2016-2017, the mobil unit provided the following services: utility and rental assistance in allen, noble, steuben and kosciusko counties and multiple community and parish visits as requested. Disaster case management- along with a construction manager, a volunteer coordinator and other long term recovery group agencies, the south bend office provided disaster case management services to households impacted by the flooding of august 2016. Services include intake assessments, community referrals, case presentations, material services, coordination of supplies, repairs and volunteer services. Since august 2016, 824 households were contacted by phone to provide information about the small business association disaster assistance loan process. In additon, 523 phone calls were made to verify that case management services were not needed and 301 additional phone assessments were conducted to determine if case management services were needed. 69 cases were officialy opened and are in the process of completing assessment and repiar work on damaged homes. Mental health counseling- south bend: due to an increased demand for quality counseling services from a catholic perspective, catholic charities is rebuilding its counseling program throughout the diocese. In 2016, the agency added one full-time counselor in the south bend office to serve students and family members referred from parishes and catholic schools in st. Joseph and surdrounding counties. Catholic charities is an indiana medicaid provider and continues to add third-party insurance providers to enable us to accept more referrals for mental health counseling and marriage and family therapy. The school social work program is providing counseling, skill building groups, crises intervention, consultation and referral services to a growing number of catholic schools in the diocese.

older adult services- scsep (senior community service employment program) (title v) scsep is available to low income individuals in allen county and the 5 surrounding counties. The purpose of the program is to assist older workers to achieve gainful employment and personal development through community services and training. Scsep participants are placed in host agencies where they receive on the job training. The host agencies are local non-profits and/or government agencies. Scsep participants are assisted in finding unsubsidized employment. Supportive services that are provided to the participants include creating and developing professional resumes, employment classes, interviewing techniques, computer training, and other job readiness classes. The program assisted 115 participants for the year ended june 30, 2017. Retired senior volunteer program (rsvp)- the rsvp program assists adults ages 55 years and over with volunteer opportunities. Catholic charities staff recruits, monitors and supports these senior volunteers who are placed with local social service agencies, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks and other not-for-profit agencies. In dekalb, noble, lagrange and steuben counties volunteers collect and distribute gently used coats for those in need during the winter months. There are no income requirements for the coats. In dekalb and noble counties back to school supplies are also available through our "pack a backpack" program, where children on the free or reduced lunch program can receive a backpack filled with school supplies. Rsvp in dekalb, lagrange, noble and steuben also offers the vita tax program for low income individuals and families free of charge in february through april 10. The rsvp program is offered in dekalb, lagrange, noble, and steuben counties of the agency's service area. The rsvp program receives funding through the corporation for national and community service and the dekalb county united ways. The rsvp program has assisted over 269 volunteers at 32 different sites. The rsvp program has also provided over 53,687 hours of volunteer services in dekalb, lagrange, noble, st joseph, elkhart and steuben counties, the value of which is $1,296,000.

adoption & pregnancy services: pregnancy services - services are provided to women and men and their families who are experiencing an untimely pregnancy. Clients may be single or married. Services offered include: professional counseling and case management, education on prolife options, and referrals to meet needs beyond the scope of our service array. Professional social workers are able to extend pro-life support and services after the birth of the child that are designed to promote the ongoing well-being and safety of everyone in the household. While adoption is discussed as a viable option, the majority of clients choose to parent their children themselves. In 2016-2017, the program served 8 clients with 2 placing their infants for adoption. Echo (education creates hope and opportunity): fort wayne & south bend: this school and home-based program provides case management, parenting skills and resources to pregnant and parenting teens. While individiual goals are set by the teens, the goal of supporting them to complete their high school education is the main goal of the program. Currently, services are provided in a growing number of schools across the diocese. As of june 30, 2017, the fort wayne echo program served 65 pregnant and parenting teens, and 13 of 15 eligible clients received their high school diplomas. In the south bend office, 34 clients parenting 37 children were served and 4 of 5 eligible clients met their education goals.