Guest Insights | Catholic Charities Helps 100+ Find Employment!

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BY ROCHELLE SCHLORTT

In just one year, Catholic Charities Life Skills & Career Development Center has helped over 100 individuals find employment. Previously, the Center was simply called the Computer Lab. It gained its weightier name when Sherry Stulpin, LSCDC Instructor, and a group of volunteers began to mentor job seekers not only in computer skills, but in the skills needed to thrive in a job and in life. Visitors to the Center have increased from four a day to eight or ten each day, maximizing the Center’s capacity. Plans are already in the works to double the number of computers available from five to ten computer stations.

Helping clients become employed increased exponentially once Stulpin began to successfully link clients and local employers, and now, has more job opportunities than trained clients to take them. Some of the employment partners are Bingo Burger, Common Cause Catering, Discover Goodwill, ENT, Firestone, Graven­Austin-Drake, Luce Research LLC, Manitou Brewing Company, Seal Coat Solutions, Labor Ready, and Xerox. Additionally Stulpin offers Job Fairs and interview opportunities on site at the Marian House to help facilitate job connections. She says, “For someone caught in the cycle of poverty, sometimes all it takes is a little personalized attention to begin taking the steps towards a better life.”

Once clients are ready to apply for jobs, most find work within three weeks, often using bus passes and wearing interview clothes provided by Catholic Charities. Those who need more time to hone their skills are placed in the Pre-Employment Volunteer Program and are paired with volunteers for special attention, or given volunteer work within Catholic Charities. Sometimes the initial job pairing doesn’t work out, and the client returns to Catholic Charities to work on specific skills and look for positions that might better fit their abilities. To date, it is estimated that 75 – 80% of clients have remained employed.
Andy Barton, Catholic Charities of Central Colorado CEO said, “The success of this program is emblematic of the work we are doing to help clients every day. Our Marian House Soup Kitchen is an important portal for transiting families in crisis to link them to services that can help them build resiliency, and ultimately stability. It’s a meal to a job.”

On November 9, Catholic Charities will host it’s first Job Fair at Catholic Charities Marian House. All job seekers are encouraged to attend. Many of Catholic Charities’ employment partners will be present with a variety of employment opportunities in multiple career fields.

Rochelle Schlortt is the Chief Communications Officer with Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.

The Hinojosas found themselves homeless in 2016 after losing everything in a house fire. They survive on a fixed income from disability checks as Mario was disabled in a car accident, and Dee suffers from several health issues. Additionally, the two oldest children are diagnosed with Autism, relying on their parents for daily support.

Catholic Charities (CC) provided encouragement and guidance, nutritious meals, a safe place to rest at the Family Day Center, personalized mentorship at the Life Skills & Career Development Center (LSCDC), and the basics so Dee and Mario could focus on bigger goals. “I feel like they were our backbone of support,” Dee says. “Support that we couldn’t even get from family, we got from them. When we didn’t have access to laundry, the only way to switch up my kid’s clothes was to go to Catholic Charities’ Kidz Klozet and get clothes for them.” Dee and Mario spent nearly every day at LSCDC working towards their goals. Their hard work and perseverance, coupled with compassionate guidance from CC staff and volunteers paid off as Dee was able to obtain a Personal Care Worker certification so she could become a caretaker for her own children and planned to pick up extra work for other individuals with disabilities. The family found an affordable rental apartment that had enough bedrooms for the whole family, and CC moved them in right before Christmas, providing household goods, temporary mattresses until they could arrange for furniture, and even a Christmas Tree and stockings.

The kids are happily attending school and participating in extracurricular activities. Natasha is involved in a program that is helping her become more independent, while Mario is working towards rebuilding his tattoo career and expanding his entrepreneurial skills by making and selling walking sticks. Dee is happily taking care of the family in her own home while growing vegetables in her garden. Twelve months after moving into their apartment, life is looking fairly normal.

“Homelessness is a humbling experience,” Dee says. “I want to live the American Dream. I want a home. I want a car. I want my kids to be established in the community with friends, all that normal fun stuff. I want beautiful Saturdays out in the mountains with my family.”

Recently, Eric and Ivonne Bass, BIA Accredited Immigration Counselor, spent one week in Dilley, TX providing pro-bono services to jailed immigrant families – mostly single mothers with children. This effort was a part of the CARA Pro Bono Project, a collaboration between multiple groups across the nation to respond to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s expansion of family detention in Dilley. Eric and Ivonne helped to prepare women for Credible Fear Interviews in which the women have the opportunity to provide a basis for an asylum case. If they pass the interview, the women are released and will later appear before an immigration judge to argue for asylum. “It’s like a battleground triage where you just try and do the best you can,” Eric described their short week working long hours in Dilley. He and Ivonne, along with 18 other volunteers, were each able to meet with 40 women that week briefly. Typically, CARA relies on only 5-6 volunteers each week.

“When you mention ‘detention center,’ people assume they are criminals” Ivonne described her work with immigrants in Dilley, “These are women who are fleeing their countries because of violence.” The majority of families are from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, with few from other Central and South American Countries.
Following their week in Dilley, the FIS team continues to be involved with the CARA project by taking cases of women who have been released from the detention center and are preparing for their asylum hearing in Colorado.

For more information about CARA, please visit caraprobono.org.

Thank you to Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) for collaborating with Catholic Charities on this video.

 Photo Courtesy:  The Denver Post

Last Updated:  July 12, 2016, 10:30 am

The most up-to-date source of information on how you can help is located at HelpColoradoNow.org

COLD SPRINGS FIRE UPDATE:

COVOAD (Colorado Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) and 211 are monitoring the Cold Springs Fire near Nederland.  BoCoVOAD is active and has representatives in the Boulder EOC.  The state OEC remains activated to help support local firefighting efforts.  The estimated size of the fire remains at approximately 600 acres. Afternoon conditions are expected to be challenging as temperatures rise and the winds pick up.

Evacuation Centers:

The American Red Cross is currently operating two evacuation centers with overnight shelters:

Nederland High School – 597 Eldora Road and East Boulder Recreation Center – 5660 Sioux Drive.  Pets are welcome at both locations. Crates and dog food are being provided for them as well.

Feeding services are being provided by The Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 

A fire relief fund has been set up through Foothills United Way to help residents impacted by the Cold Springs Fire near Nederland.  Those seeking to make a donation can visit  www.ColdSpringsFireFund.org.    The funds will be distributed by the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services through case managers working with fire-impacted residents. This is the best way the community can assist fire survivors at this time.

There are still no current in-kind donations or volunteer needs.  

All community members seeking volunteer or donation opportunities are encouraged to visit www.HelpColoradoNow.org to sign up for updates and email newsletters.

Boulder OEM anticipates it will be at least 2-3 days before many evacuated residents can return to their homes.  As of Sunday evening, a total of 1,991 residents have been evacuated.

For Boulder County OEM Updates, including current information on road closures, fire perimeter, and evacuation maps, please visit:  www.boulderoem.com

HAYDEN PASS FIRE UPDATE:

FREMONT COUNTY – The Hayden Pass Fire burning near Coaldale in Fremont County doubled in size Monday, mostly to the east, and is now burning more than 12,000 acres.  Fire officials say they expect the fire to continue moving towards Coaldale, reaching the town in 12-24 hours.  Officials warn that Highway 50 may be closed Tuesday, depending on fire conditions.  About 109 homes have been evacuated. Evacuation areas include south of County Road 6, within a three-mile radius of County Road 6 and County Road 45, and County Road 40, including the Fox Creek Subdivision.

Evacuation Centers:

The fire department in Howard is an evacuation shelter, and Chaffee County Fairgrounds in Salida is taking in animals.  Around 80 animals have been evacuated.

Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said on their Facebook page that they do not need volunteers for animal evacuations and that they will request help if they do.  Call 784-3411 for information on volunteering.

CONTRIBUTIONS: 

Water donations are NOT needed at this time, as they received numerous pallets of water on Monday.  

Springs Rescue Mission and Catholic Charities of Central Colorado announced the Family Mentor Alliance will move to Catholic Charities and become part of the Family Resource Campus in downtown Colorado Springs, currently located in the Marian House.  This move is an extension of the partnership between the two agencies to focus resources on specific populations in need.  Springs Rescue Mission continues to expand its campus to increase services to the chronically homeless population while Catholic Charities expands its services for families in crisis:  those who are homeless, on the verge of homelessness, or in extreme poverty.

Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said, “We could not be more pleased to welcome the Family Mentor Alliance program to our Family Resource Center.  There is no question the program’s leadership and church partners have built a thriving model with the support of Springs Rescue Mission over the past four years.  We are excited to merge the added capacity of the Family Resource Center to the work of the Family Mentor Alliance to help cultivate and grow this important program.”  Larry Yonker, CEO of Springs Rescue Mission, said, “I am so proud of the Family Mentor Alliance staff and volunteer mentors who have made this program such a success for families experiencing homelessness in Colorado Springs.  Collectively, those families have custody of more than 100 children-100 kids whose lives are more stable today because of the program.  With Catholic Charities growing infrastructure for family ministry, I feel confident that the Family Mentor Alliance will grow even stronger in the years to come.”

The Family Mentor Alliance, established at Springs Rescue Mission in 2012, is modeled after Gov. John Hickenlooper’s One Congregation-One Family model and is part of Pathways Home Colorado – the state plan to replicate best practice models, support regional priorities, and become more strategic in preventing and ending homelessness.  The One Congregation-One Family model pairs mentor teams from religious congregations with families experiencing housing instability to help the families achieve self-sufficiency and build community support systems.

Using their experience working with homeless families, Partners in Housing will work to assist families in the Family Mentor Alliance program by providing housing resources as needed.  Recently, Springs Rescue Mission and Partners in Housing were both awarded HUD grants for Rapid Re-Housing.  Partners in Housing will steward the Springs Rescue Mission grant, which will move to Catholic Charities to be used for Family Mentor Alliance families.

Since the program’s inception, 42 families have successfully completed the Family Mentor Alliance program and maintained one year of housing – a 92% success rate.  Michelle Swanson and Summer Tungseth have led the program at Springs Rescue Mission and have developed services for children dealing with the trauma of homelessness, which focus on breaking generational cycles of poverty.  Swanson and Tungseth will transition from the Family Mentor Alliance program to Catholic Charities beginning on July 1st.

Child in Parents Lap at Family Connections

When the Family Day Center opened on September 1, 2015, 40-60 families were expected to use the facility in the 12-month pilot program.  However, from September 1, 2015 – April 31, 2016, 106 unduplicated families with a combined 320 children, have visited the center, seeking assistance.  The majority of families were homeless – 56%, while 16% were at risk of becoming homeless.

The life challenges of these families range from someone in the family dealing with a substance abuse issue – 8 families, with the majority coping with financial issues – 48 families.  Many participated in case management, enrichment activities, and life skills classes.

Clearly, there is a need for a Family Day Center in our community.  At this time, we are outgrowing the pilot program at the Marian House. We are looking for expanded space to house the Family Day Center, in addition to the expanded programs of the Family Resource Center, which includes the Family Day Center, Life Support emergency services, and the Family Mentor Alliance.

Combined Press Conference:  Providing for Community Members in Need

Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, Springs Rescue Mission, 
City of Colorado Springs Mayor’s Office

May 10, 2016      9:30 am – 9:45 am    

Marian House Hanifen Center, 14 West Bijou Street, Colorado Springs, CO

(Colorado Springs, CO) May 10, 2016.  Catholic Charities of Central Colorado announced today the expansion of a Family Resource Campus in downtown Colorado Springs, currently located in the Marian House, and support for the Springs Rescue Mission Homeless Campus.

Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said, “The current model of how we solve human issues facing this community needs to be updated.  We need to focus on people rather than services, and we need to consolidate services to specific populations to be more effective & efficient.”

Recently, Catholic Charities received a 5-year renewable grant of up to $350,000 from the state to implement a Family Resource Center evidenced-based model for providing stability services to families in need.  Catholic Charities will continue and expand many of the current program offerings to better meet the needs of vulnerable families, and expand partnerships with health care providers, Partners in Housing, CPCD, and the Salvation Army to ensure easy, coordinated access to a menu of family services.

Based on the belief that consolidated services delivered to specific populations are more effective, Catholic Charities not only supports the new Springs Rescue Mission Homeless Campus as a dignified and effective solution for serving the community’s chronically homeless adults, but will offer bridge services during both phases of campus construction.  Additionally, SRM will become a partner agency on site at the Marian House to help transition chronically homeless adults currently being served at Marian House.

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Media Coverage:

The Gazette

Colorado Springs Business Journal

KRDO News Channel 13

Nonprofit News (The Gazette)

KKTV 11 News

 

About Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities has almost a 50-year history of Serving the Poor and Vulnerable in Central Colorado and during that time, has demonstrated flexibility in changing to meet the needs of the community.  Founded in 1968 as a family service agency, Catholic Charities took over the operation of the Marian House Soup Kitchen in 1994.  Partners in Housing and CPCD started as Catholic Charities programs before being spun off as individual 501C3 organizations.

Currently offering over 75 programs and services in the areas of Family Services, Pathways to Opportunities, Emergency & Essential Needs, and Health & Wellness, Catholic Charities is a leader in the delivery of services to community members in need.

Catholic Charities serves families, the working poor, seniors on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, veterans, and people who are homeless.

 

Catholic Charities offers over 75 programs and services, one-third of which serve families.  Below is a list of some of these services. Click here for a complete list of Catholic Charities programs & services.

 

• Adoption Services
• Adoption Search & Reunion
• Adopt a Family program
• Child Care
• Child Watch in Family Day Center
• Enriched Childcare for ESL Classes
• Foster Cradle Care
• Children’s & Maternity Clothing Closet
• Children’s Programs
• Birthday & Christmas Gift Programs
• Coats for Kids with Knights of Columbus
• Layettes for New Moms
• School Supply Drive
• Special Event Parties
for underprivileged children		 • Comprehensive Case Management
• Counseling Services
• Early Literacy Education
• ESL Reading Circles
• Jungle Story-Time (Success by 6)
• Bright by Three
• Age Appropriate Book Distribution
• Educational Offerings
• Child Birth Education Classes
• Financial Literacy Classes
• Parenting Classes
• Prenatal Nurturing Classes
• RealCare© Baby project
• Emergency Baby Needs		 • Emergency Shelter
• Family Day Center for families who
are homeless or in crisis
• Family Enrichment Activities
• Family Facilitator with
Douglas County Cares
• Family Meals & Food Boxes
• General Needs
(diapers, wipes, etc.)
• Life Skills & Job Readiness
• Naturalization & Immigration Services
• New Mothers’ Support Groups
• Project Rachel Abortion
Healing Support Groups
• Relinquishment Counseling
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

 

BY ROCHELLE SCHLORTT

Marian House Community Outreach (MHCO) has nearly doubled its services in the past year throughout the 10-County Diocese. The program provides necessities, such as food boxes, housewares, and clothing, to vulnerable populations that cannot access the on-site assistance at the Marian House. In 2015, 15,900 pounds of food were distributed to local food pantries and churches in addition to 25,042 pounds of food distributed to rural partners. Food, however, is not the only necessity in demand.  MHCO also distributed 1,165 bags of clothing locally and 907 bags of clothing rurally, along with 172 coats and a myriad of items such as school supplies, kitchen wares, and hygiene products.

MHCO staff recognizes that their stronger effort to reach out to rural contacts has allowed for an increase in services.  To date, they have established 13 local partners and 30 rural partners.  Additionally, MHCO has worked closely with the Catholic Charities Community and Parish Engagement (CPE) staff to coordinate efforts between local and rural parishes throughout the diocese.  The CPE team hopes to establish a “sister parish” program to connect stable parishes with parishes serving communities in need.

Thanks to the support of Catholic Charities, the Stratton Community Pantry has been able to expand from simply providing Thanksgiving assistance to offering food and other necessities year-round. “It really turned out to be one of the best things that we were connected with,” said Lynne Ware, a longtime volunteer at the Pantry.  While a pantry exists in the nearby town of Burlington, Stratton residents in need could not easily make the 56-mile round trip to access services.  Lynne notes that the growth of the panty in the past few years has inspired more local community involvement.  In addition to the 20 backpacks full of school supplies provided by MHCO this year, the pantry was able to purchase new gym shoes for students in need with donations from local residents.  Lynne hopes that donors recognize “how many mouths they’ve fed and, to a certain extent, how many lives they’ve changed.” 

In Colorado Springs, Grace Be Unto You Church provides assistance to families and individuals on the southeast side of the city.  The Church’s pantry is open on Wednesday afternoons and serves up to 500 individuals each month.  During the 2015 Thanksgiving season, the Church found that they were unable to meet the high demand for holiday assistance when an anticipated donation did not come through.  Thanks to the incredible gift from Safeway & Albertsons, MHCO was able to provide the Church with 200 turkeys and 136 sides.  Pastor Bill notes that he has seen an increase in demand for services in recent years and acknowledges how valuable the support from MHCO is for his community, “It’s a tremendous help.  Because of Catholic Charities, we’re now able to reach and help more low-income families in the community.  It’s a blessing, a wonderful blessing.”

Rochelle Schlortt is the Chief Communications Officer for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.

BY ROCHELLE SCHLORTT

The Life Skills Center (LSC) at Marian House, previously known as the Computer Lab, has seen significant growth in the past year. LSC, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., has been bursting at the seams with clients! The success can be directly attributed to Sherry Stulpin, Life Skills Instructor, who offers individualized mentorship and instruction.  She has a team of volunteers who work to meet the needs of clients seeking assistance.

In addition to the daily instruction, clients can participate in a monthly Financial Literacy class, led by ENT Federal Credit Union and Stulpin on a rotating schedule, to learn basic financial management skills.  Attendance in the class has grown exponentially. She says, “The classes are really helpful in teaching basic financial skills. Many of our clients don’t understand the difference between net and gross income, which obviously makes a huge difference when trying to set a monthly budget.”

Stulpin encourages clients to “plot their plan” by setting a specific goal and a timeline to meet it. From finding a job to budgeting income, Stulpin helps clients choose goals that suit their individual needs.  The names of clients who achieve their goals are written on the LSC’s “Success Board” to acknowledge their hard work publicly.  Stulpin says, ” Everyone wants to be on that board!” Nearly 100 clients (duplicated) visit the LSC each month, with many returning for multiple visits to meet their goals. Many have already found jobs using their newly learned skills. LSC has partnered with Discover Goodwill to offer a private job fair in February.  Clients recommended by Sculpin are invited to attend the fair.

Rochelle Schlortt is the Chief Communications Officer for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.