Lent 2012 Housing Services (week 2, March 4) (INSIDE the Forum)

Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (CSSW):  Housing Services

Having a roof over your head is not the same is having a home.  Understanding this, CSSW provides comprehensive assistance to adults and teens at high risk of homelessness to ensure they maintain safe, stable housing.

The causes of homelessness are complex, but the devastation is clear.  Those without a permanent home are much more likely to abuse substances, be crime victims, and suffer chronic health problems.  Along with a secure residence, a strong support system is imperative to break the cycle.  This is where CSSW comes in.

CSSW Housing Support Services (HSS) collaborates with the local non-profit, Avalon Housing, to help extremely low-income tenants maintain permanent housing and maximize independence.   

For pregnant teens and adolescent moms, Father Patrick Jackson House provides a safe, nurturing home environment and helps them develop the education and living skills needed to become capable parents.

Home.  A place CSSW believes everyone should be able to enjoy.

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This week, we share the story of Julia, who is involved with the CSSW program, Housing Support Services (HSS):

Things couldn’t get much worse.  Julia tried rehab, but kept relapsing; her husband and kids left long ago.  Because of her chronic alcohol addiction she couldn’t hold onto a job.  At 55, suffering from major depression, Julia was homeless.

Individuals like Julia battling life challenges don’t have to end up isolated, living in shelters, or on the streets.  In Ann Arbor, the HSS program helps tenants of Avalon Housing maintain housing and maximize personal independence.  Each client receives the level of assistance necessary to sustain independent housing.  Services include: help accessing rental assistance, transportation, connecting people with community and employment resources, and help with daily living tasks and medication management.  The HSS team is available 24/7.

For Julia, it worked.

When she first came to HSS, she had been homeless for more than two years—staying in hotels, sleeping on people’s couches, living in shelters.  CSSW helped her to get back on her feet, get medical help for her depression and other issues, and connected her with outside resources.

Today, almost three years later, Julie has a place to call home.  She is sober, secure, and hopeful. Her outlook remains positive because she is no longer alone—CSSW is there whenever, however she may need a helping hand.

This article was edited and organized by Kelly Gauthier, St. Francis Parish Peace & Justice Committee member

Lent 2012 (week 2, Mar 4) FORUM Cover by Tony Glinke

During Lent we are called to  Change our Hearts and use this graced time to be 

renewed in God's spirit.   The FORUM Cover Articles during Lent this year are written by fellow St. Francis parishioners about how serving our neighbors in need, especially through Catholic Social Services (CSS) has caused a change of heart for the better.

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The Yorkshireman's Motto [Abbreviated]

“. . . And if you do anything for nothing, do it for yourself.”

I am a selfish man, and I want you to be selfish.

Since 1959 Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (CSSW) has been dedicated to improving the lives of our community's most vulnerable citizens.  CSSW is the largest social service agency in Washtenaw County.  Annually CSSW serves thousands of individuals and families of all faiths and all walks of life.  

CSSW offers more than two dozen programs reflecting the vast diversity of our community: adoption and pregnancy counseling, food assistance, homelessness prevention, domestic and child abuse intervention and prevention, family therapy, and services to assist older adults, individuals with developmental disabilities, and at-risk families with young children.

I joined St. Francis parish in 1989 and the CSSW board of Directors in 1996.  By personal example, my parents always instilled in me the responsibility of lay Catholics to get involved and act positively in their communities.  When I joined CSSW I was absolutely shocked at the enormous need for social services in and around the Ann Arbor area.  This was not a mission to help poor people in some distant foreign land; this was real need just 1 mile from my home.  I guarantee that CSSW is active within a mile of your home also.

Did I mention that I’m selfish?  I have lived in Ann Arbor for 35 years.  I love our town.  I met my wife here.  We’ve made a life and raised our children here.  I plan to live here for the rest of my life. 

I am selfish because I want my town to get better and better.  If our community is going to improve, we need to help all our families in all their forms.  We must help all the children, not just our own.  Let’s face facts; times are tough for folks, and government finances and resources are stretched thin.  CSSW is a solid local charity that does solid local service for our community.

So I urge you to be selfish and get involved.  Do it for your community. Do it for your family and your children.  Do it for yourself.  Your gift of wealth, wisdom, or a willingness to work will have a profound and positive effect on our community now and in the many years to come.  Every dollar spent, every hour worked makes our community a better place for all of us.

Thank you for your time today, and may God bless each and every one of you.  

Lent 2012 (week 2, March 4) FORUM Cover by  Tony Glinke, member of St. Francis Parish

Neighbors in Need:  Join us in support of our local neighbors who are struggling for food, housing, and care of poverty-stricken elderly.  Our direct service partnership is with Washtenaw Catholic Social Services."    Learn more at:  www.stfrancisa2.com/lent/

2012 Activities CALENDAR (week 1, Feb 26)

(Activities Calendar PDF)

Lent 2012 Aging Services (week 1, Feb 26) (Article for INSIDE the Forum)

Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (CSSW):  Aging Services

CCSW offers many services that help older adults maintain dignified, safe, and independent lives in their own homes:   Medicare/ Medicaid Assistance Program (helps older adults obtain benefits); Neighborhood Senior Services (support and advocacy for low-income seniors, with programs dedicated to home safety, household maintenance/repair, transportation to health care, and companion services); Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers (respite care for those caring for a chronically ill family member); Grandparents as Parents (support for seniors raising children not their own); Tax Assistance (helps low-income seniors and disabled adults file income tax returns); The Oaks ~ Adult Day Services (intensive respite day program for adults with physical, mental, and cognitive impairments); RSVP (places adults ages 55+ in volunteer positions with local non-profit organizations).

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This week, we share the story of Rosie, who is involved with the CSSW program, Grandparents as Parents (GAP):

In the school of life, Rosie is a great teacher. Her unending curiosity, boundless energy—and a rare level of compassion and optimism—have transformed the lives she has touched and the children she has saved.  Now in her 80's, Rosie enthusiastically participates in monthly GAP meetings and offers encouragement to others who are raising their grandchildren.

By the time Rosie was 28 years old, she had nine children.  In addition to her own children, she raised her grandson, Roderick, who (like his grandmother) is a role model for his nephews and nieces.

Her son Andre came to her in a much different way.  After befriending a member of her church suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, Rosie learned that the woman's daughter had given birth to a very ill infant boy.  So frail, in fact, that he was not expected to survive to his first birthday.  The young mother did not want to keep the baby; doctors held out little hope.  Rosie, being Rosie, took the rigid, malnourished infant into her arms and after months of struggling to get her baby to eat; exercising and massaging him, Andre began to thrive.  Today, he is a strapping young man.

Rosie's daughter, Andrea, began life in an equally dramatic way.  Rosie's drug-addicted granddaughter literally showed up on her doorstep one night, obviously sick, in pain—and pregnant.  Andrea was born the next day and was legally adopted by Rosie through the CSSW Adoption program.

Whatever the challenge, Rosie has remains an idealist and serves as an inspiration for others in the GAP program.

This article was edited and organized by Kelly Gauthier, St. Francis Parish Peace & Justice Committee member

Lent 2012 (week 1, Feb 26) FORUM Cover by Brian Kelley

The FORUM Cover Articles during Lent this year are written by fellow St. Francis parishioners about how serving our neighbors in need, especially through Catholic Social Services (CSS) has caused a change of heart for the better.

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I belong to The Friends of Fr. Pat's, a group supporting the mission of The Father Patrick

Jackson House Program. It was my Mother who first got me involved with Fr. Pat's. I started

out as a volunteer, parking cars at the house on football Saturdays to raise money for the

program. A few years later I served on the Board and helped in the transition as Fr. Pat's

became a program of Catholic Social Services. The goal of the program is to help pregnant

and parenting teens of all faiths develop the education and living skills needed to become self

sufficient. This is a difficult task. It takes dedicated, hard working staff and volunteers. It takes

community support and financial resources. When the House was dedicated in April of 1984, a

little over a year after the death of Fr. Patrick Jackson, it really was an act of faith.

Fr. Jackson was a diocesan priest who began his ministry at Ann Arbor St. Thomas in the mid

1960s before serving as the Pastor at Old St. Patrick's in Whitmore Lake from 1971 through

the early 1980s. I first met him when I was a second grader at St. Thomas. He had a very big

impact on me. Now, nearly forty years later, I am working on behalf of a program named in his

memory and trying to put into practice what he taught me about being a part of a community

of faith. He taught me that to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ I needed to practice a living

faith. To me that means helping in whatever way I can to make the world I live in a better

place. I know that if I do this I am a better parent, a better husband and better member of the

community in which I live.

The Friends of Fr. Pat's are hosting a St. Patrick's Day Dinner on March 4th at St. John the Baptist Church in Ypsilanti to raise money for the Fr. Patrick Jackson House Program. For information go to http://csswashtenaw.org or call 734/971-9781, ext. 323.

Lent 2012 (week 1, Feb 26) FORUM Cover by Brian Kelley, member of St. Francis Parish

Neighbors in Need:  Join us in support of our local neighbors who are struggling for food, housing, and care of poverty-stricken elderly.  Our direct service partnership is with Washtenaw Catholic Social Services."    Learn more at:  www.stfrancisa2.com/lent/

2012 Activities CALENDAR (prior to Ash Wed, Feb 19)

(Activities Calendar PDF)

Lent 2012: Neighbors in Need (prior to Ash Wed, Feb 19)

Lent 2012:      Neighbors in Need

The headlines these days can be pretty sobering:

·  According to the Social Security Administration, 50% of American workers earned less than $26,364 last year

·  1/3 of all American workers (and 79% of low-wage workers ) do not get any paid sick days

·  In 2010 more people were recorded as living in poverty than in any of the previous 52 years for which rates have been published:  46.9 million (15% of the U.S. population)

·  About 17 million households were registered as food insecure, meaning they did not have consistent dependable access to enough food

·  According to a study by the MI League for Human Services:  Michigan recorded the nation’s 4^th highest increase in family poverty from 2006-2010.  We also had the nation’s 2^nd highest drop in median income

·  The State reduced the lifetime limit for cash welfare payments to 48 months.  Once a person reaches this limit, s/he cannot receive a cash payment after losing a job, being abandoned by a spouse, becoming seriously ill, or for any other reason

·  The State also reduced the time that citizens are eligible for unemployment assistance, and reduced workers’ compensation payments to those who are injured on the job

·  To fund business tax cuts, Michigan increased taxes on half of those who file a state personal income tax form.  The average tax increase varies depending on income – the poorest citizens will pay about $100 more and the highest-income earners will pay an extra $7 on average, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.  This is because the State eliminated several tax credits that only applied to low-income households.

·  Ten years ago, Michigan’s statutory revenue sharing for local governments was $900 million – it was only $215 million last year, which has resulted in steep cuts to human services at local levels

As more and more people are struggling, our state seems to have hardened its heart.  The limited assistance that used to be available is rapidly disappearing.  In the face of these hard realities, the Catholic Church continues to do its best to protect the poor and vulnerable.

While the Church does not have the resources to address all of the tremendous need that exists, Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (CSSW) provides desperately needed help to thousands of our neighbors.

During the Lenten season, we will highlight the stories of some of the people who have been helped by CSSW and describe some of the work that CSSW quietly does every day.  We will focus on their work with:

·  Senior citizens

·  Those who face housing insecurity

·  Those who face food insecurity

·  Women who are pregnant and imprisoned

·  People who have disabilities

In Mark 25:40, Jesus tells us that what we do for the least of His people, we do for Him.  The St. Francis Peace & Justice Committee hopes that this Lenten project will lead all of us to consider how we can use our time, talents, treasure, and prayers to serve Jesus when He appears among us as a neighbor in need.

This article was edited and organized by Kelly Gauthier, St. Francis Parish Peace & Justice Committee member

Neighbors in Need

Join us in support of our local neighbors

who are struggling for food, housing,

and care of poverty stricken elderly.

Our direct service partnership is with

Washtenaw Catholic Social Services.

Please return your cash and/or check contributions in the sack (attached in this FORUM) on Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012

Checks should be payable to: St. Francis of Assisi

Learn more at: stfrancisa2.org/lent