Catholic Charities serves community with compassion

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago operates 150 programs at 153 locations in Cook and Lake counties, providing services that range from food pantries and clothing rooms to mental health counseling, affordable housing and senior services.

Mike Waters, Northwest Regional Director for Catholic Charities, who is in its Des Plaines office, talked about the organization's work.

Q: What is your organization's mission?

Waters: Catholic Charities fulfills the church's role in the mission of charity to anyone in need by providing compassionate, competent and professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities based on the value and dignity of human life.

In order to remain faithful to our mission, Catholic Charities is guided by these core values: Respect, Compassion, Competence and Stewardship.

(The Rockford and Joliet dioceses have their own arms of Catholic Charities, working in counties including DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry.)

Q: What kind of successes have you had?

Waters: Many of our programs are designed not just to help people with their immediate crises, but to help them become self-sufficient.

One mother with two young sons who found herself homeless was placed in transitional housing through our New Hope Apartments program and, with the support of our caseworkers, was able to save money and finish her bachelor's degree to secure her family's future.

An Army veteran who struggled to readjust after eight years in the military lost his job and apartment and was living on the street before he found housing through our Supportive Services for Veterans Families and, with the help of his caseworker, got his life back on track, went to graduate school and started a new career.

Many people who come to our Des Plaines office for food or clothing wind up being connected to other Catholic Charities services that help them better their lives.

Q: What challenges does the organization currently face?

Waters: Much of our revenue comes from government contracts to run social service programs on their behalf. As a result of the state budget impasse, several of our programs are at risk, including those that serve about 25,000 seniors, 2,300 adults and 1,600 children.

Q: What do you wish the community at large knew about the organization?

Waters: Catholic Charities helps anyone in need, regardless of religious background, and provides a wide scope of services. At our Northwest suburban office in Des Plaines, we have a food pantry that feeds more than 20,000 people a year, a twice-weekly supper program that serves almost 6,800 people a year, a clothing room that clothes more than 7,100 people a year and a variety of other programs and services that include professional counseling for individuals, couples or families with emotional, behavioral or relationship/family problems; immigration and legal assistance; maternity and adoption services; an array of services to senior citizens to help them remain in their homes; and programs that provide transitional housing for homeless veterans and homeless families with children, along with casework support to help them become self-sufficient.

Q: When and why did the organization start? How has it grown?

Waters: Catholic Charities began in 1917, when a group of Catholic businessmen petitioned Cardinal Mundelein to create a central Catholic charity in Chicago to relieve the burden on Catholic parishes, which were struggling to meet the needs of the poor in their communities.

World War I had just ended, the Spanish Influenza Epidemic was sweeping the globe, and immigrants were arriving daily in a city growing by leaps and bounds.

The organization was chartered in January 1918, and Cardinal Mundelein addressed the 200 board members at their first meeting in April of the following year. He reported on the agency's immediate success in raising funds and serving the poor:

"During the past 12 months, 50,000 people in this city and diocese have contributed their money, their time and their services that we might efficiently carry out these works of mercy, that we might feed the hungry, nurse the sick, protect the orphan, shelter the homeless and help the poor in our midst."

During the Great Depression, Catholic Charities was a key partner in a citywide effort to aid families struggling to survive prolonged unemployment. Along with helping people access private and public "relief" programs, the agency became well-known for feeding the hungry and caring for orphans and children of unwed mothers, as well as the mothers themselves.

By 1945, a group of 48 individual program sites fell under the auspices of Catholic Charities.

Over the latter half of the 20th century, Catholic Charities grew and changed to reflect societal needs and trends. During the "War on Poverty" years of the 1960s, the agency began to provide Head Start services. In the 1980s, Catholic Charities became one of the largest providers of foster care and other child welfare services in the area.

Through the 1990s and into the 21st century, the agency grew its programming for seniors and built many affordable residences for this population. At the same time, Catholic Charities partnered with state and federal programs on a new model for distributing food and social services through Women, Infants and Children (WIC) centers in Chicago. Along with the new initiatives, the agency continued to provide emergency assistance, counseling, addiction services, and employment and job training.

Today, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest private, nonprofit social service agencies in the Midwest, annually assisting more than 1 million people. Our programs are organized into five service areas that cover human needs from "cradle to grave" and every point in between. Additionally, 92 cents of every dollar we raise goes directly to our programs.

Often, people in need are facing multiple challenges and need a holistic approach to reach stability. Our broad range of programming, professional staff, and scores of dedicated volunteers allow us to reach out and embrace many of the area's poor and to walk with them for as long as they need us, with the goal of helping them become as self-sufficient as possible.

How to help

• Volunteer: (847) 376-2101, <a href="http://www.volunteerbridge.com/">www.volunteerbridge.com</a>

• Donate: Monetary or in-kind donations can be mailed to or dropped off at the office, 1717 Rand Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016

• Attend: Hearts for Hope Dinner & Auction Saturday, April 29, Cotillion, 360 S. Creekside Drive, Palatine; reservations at www.catholiccharities.net/hearts, or (847) 376-2118.