2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Friend,
The coronavirus has touched all our lives, and the importance of Catholic Charities programs and services was made clear in March 2020 when Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic and national emergency.
Throughout these challenging times, our clients continued to receive access to our essential services, particularly our more vulnerable and underserved communities—the very populations that have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, our donors, advocates and volunteers have shown faith in our efforts to help us provide essential services to individuals and families throughout Central Minnesota.
In 2020, Catholic Charities served 44,251 people, providing food, shelter, clothing, behavioral health services and more to our neighbors.
I’m proud of Catholic Charities response to the pandemic, in awe of the dedication of our incredible staff and community partners, and beyond grateful for your support of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud.
In gratitude,
Stephen R. Pareja, Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud
You've helped make a different tomorrow for 44,251 people in our community.
Catholic Charities serves and enhances human dignity for people of all faiths and beliefs.
Our programs focus on five areas:
- Behavioral Health
- Community Services
- Affordable and Transitional Housing
- Supportive Living
- Social Concerns
CATHOLIC CHARITIES SERVICE OVERVIEW IN 2020
TOTAL REVENUE AND SUPPORT: $19,421,423
For fiscal year ending December 31, 2020.
View the complete audited report.
Program Service Fees: 43.4%
Contributions: 21.3%
Grants: 26.4%
Other: 8.9%
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Catholic Charities Behavioral Health helps individuals and families develop and enhance psychiatric stability, social competencies, personal and emotional adjustment, and independent living and community skills.
Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Clinic is an outpatient counseling and behavioral health facility operating in St. Cloud and through satellite sites throughout Central Minnesota.
Throughout Covid-19, the Behavioral Health Clinic transitioned services to virtual appointments, including therapy, psychiatry and support groups, continuing to meet the needs of its clients by providing both in-person and telehealth services.
- 396 people received support through individual, family and marriage counseling.
- 116 people received support through Catholic Charities Men’s Domestic Abuse Intervention Program.
- 14 individuals received parenting assessments for working with and assessing parents and families with child protection concerns.
- 4 students under age 18 received school counseling services.
HOPE COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES
Catholic Charities Hope Community Support Program is a friendly, professional program dedicated to helping individuals with mental illness live healthy, productive and independent lives.
For some clients, telehealth wasn’t always an option, and staff provided in-home visits as much as possible during the state’s stay-at-home order. These visits were oftentimes the only human contact clients received in a week.
- 641 people with serious and persistent mental illness received support through Hope Community Support Program.
DAY TREATMENT: ST. CLOUD AND ELK RIVER
Catholic Charities Day Treatment programs in St. Cloud and Elk River help students with emotional and behavioral disorders function more successfully in their homes, schools and communities.
On-site programming was closed during the state’s stay-at-home order and from March to May 2020, clients were provided telehealth sessions with assigned therapists. Because of safety protocols, including social distancing and cleaning, the program purchased additional tables, client supplies, cleaning products, gloves, masks and more, ensuring surfaces and rooms were disinfected between client use.
- 58 youth and their families were served by Catholic Charities Day Services Program in St. Cloud.
- 44 youth and their families were served by Catholic Charities Day Services Program in Elk River.
Catholic Charities Young Learners Program is an intensive outpatient day treatment program that provides mental health programming for young children ages 3 to 7 who have experienced significant trauma.
Early in the pandemic, the Young Learners Program was closed for two months, beginning in March 2020, with on-site group programming resuming in May 2020. To abide by the state’s guidelines for group limits, the program alternated its two groups, having each meet every other day.
- 17 children were served through our Young Learners Program.
COMMUNITY SERVICES
Programs within Catholic Charities Community Services include Emergency Services, which provides food, clothing and financial assistance, Senior Dining and the Foster Grandparent Program.
Our national partnerships include Meals on Wheels America for home-delivered meals, AmeriCorps Seniors through its Foster Grandparent Program and the St. Cloud Area Toys for Tots Program in conjunction with the Marine Corps League, Valhalla Detachment.
Catholic Charities Emergency Services provides food, clothing and financial assistance to individuals and households in need while helping them become healthier members of the community.
Emergency Services programs continued during the pandemic, with food distributions, and food, clothing and financial assistance requests being served by phone and appointment.
FOOD SHELF
Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf provides access to healthy food for people faced with missing meals and serves the cities of St. Cloud, St. Augusta, Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Waite Park.
Food distribution was provided through a walk-up service model with safety precautions. The numbers of individuals and households served by our Mobile Food Shelf increased.
The Hunger Doesn’t Wait: Food Delivery Program was established, providing a monthly pre-packed food relief serve to homebound individuals and households. Some families infected by Covid-19 received healthy and nutritious food as a result of this program.
- 1,303,807 pounds of food were distributed to 12,320 individuals across 4,138 households in Central Minnesota.
CLOTHING PROGRAM
Catholic Charities Emergency Services Clothing Program helps those in need with the basic essentials of daily living.
- 3,028 individuals across 1,145 households received seasonally and work-appropriate clothing, bedding, towels, cookware and dinnerware.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Catholic Charities Emergency Services Financial Assistance serves individuals in crisis and helps in identifying additional community resources.
- 2,900 individuals across 1,386 households received assistance in the form of gas vouchers, bus passes, prescriptions and medical co-pays, fees for birth certificates and state identification documents, and apartment application fees.
HOLIDAY TOY PROGRAM: MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS
Catholic Charities partners with the Marine Corps League, Valhalla Detachment to provide holiday toys to children in need in conjunction with their Toys for Tots program.
Once again, we were able to provide this service to our community while meeting safety protocols with online registration and a curbside delivery of the toys in partnership with the Marines.
- 2,334 children up to age 16 across 847 households received gifts during the holiday season.
Catholic Charities is passionate about improving the well-being of our community seniors with programs that include congregate dining and home-delivered meals.
In November 2020, the Minnesota Department of Human Services awarded Catholic Charities—specifically, our Senior Dining program—the Circle of Excellence Award.
This award recognizes organizations that have partnered with DHS and done an exemplary job of providing food, shelter and other assistance to Minnesotans in need. Special consideration was given in 2020 to organizations that provided exceptional service in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because of the pandemic, our Congregate Dining sites closed in March 2020 and our Senior Dining program changed its model for providing low-cost nutritious meal options for older adults in Central Minnesota.
By incorporating frozen meals, developing pop-up sites and partnering with food shelves—including Catholic Charities Food Shelf—Senior Dining more than tripled its capacity, preparing and delivering about 91,000 meals per month, up from 26,000 meals a month in 2019.
Distributions were added in five counties, as well as a virtual “lunch and learns,” helping seniors socially connect with their peers, while teaching them about the importance of nutrition and technology.
CONGREGATE DINING
2,658 adults and seniors received congregate dining meals across 28 sites before closing due to the pandemic.
HOME-DELIVERED MEALS
348,275 home-delivered meals were provided to 4,555 seniors.
Catholic Charities Central Minnesota Foster Grandparent Program provides a way for volunteers age 55 and over to stay active by serving children and youth in their communities. Foster Grandparents are role models, mentors and friends to children with exceptional needs.
With many schools limiting the number of people in buildings, Foster Grandparent volunteers worked remotely, helping students with reading, writing and math, and oftentimes visited homes. They also helped teachers with classroom prep from home. Some volunteers were able to return to classrooms in-person.
- 10,876 children under age 18 received mentoring and support from 213 Foster Grandparents across 102 sites, including schools and day-care facilities. 1,491 of those children are students with special needs.
AFFORDABLE AND TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
Catholic Charities Affordable and Transitional Housing works to find housing solutions for persons in need, including affordable rental housing and transitional housing for women with children, veterans and single women in a sober environment.
Catholic Charities Share the Spirit program, coordinated by Affordable Housing staff, matches families who are experiencing hardship during the holiday season with individuals and organizations who wish to help.
Catholic Charities Affordable Housing manages affordable rental housing for eligible households across eight sites in St. Cloud, Holdingford, Melrose, Eden Valley, St. Joseph, Sauk Centre and Richmond.
In order to ensure safety, Affordable Housing offered appointment-only meetings for residents and applicants, and staff concentrated their efforts on emergency maintenance requests, placing minor or small maintenance needs on hold.
- 838 individuals were served through housing management services across eight rental sites.
SHARE THE SPIRIT PROGRAM
1,081 individuals across 247 households received gifts during the holiday season through the Share the Spirit program.
Catholic Charities Transitional Housing for women with children, veterans and single women, and youth who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness are voluntary programs that provide a temporary home and support services to motivated individuals.
ADULT TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
Adult Transitional Housing programs continued serving individuals during the pandemic, ensuring a safe and healthy environment for staff, residents and clients. Many residents lost work, especially those with entry-level positions, and have transitioned to unemployment benefits while working hard to find new employment.
Domus
Catholic Charities Domus Transitional Housing is a voluntary program that provides a temporary home and support services to motivated women with custody of children under the age of 12.
- 38 single women and their children receiving transitional housing at Domus while working on a long-term stability plan.
Emily's Place
Catholic Charities Emily’s Place is a voluntary program that provides a temporary home and support services to motivated single women in a sober environment.
- 7 women receiving transitional housing at Emily’s Place while working on a long-term stability plan.
V.A. House
Catholic Charities Veterans Transitional Housing is a temporary and voluntary program that provides affordable, sober housing to recovering chemically dependent or dual-diagnosed male veterans.
- 6 veterans received temporary transitional housing.
Catholic Charities offers a range of services to youth who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including temporary housing, mentoring and life skills support.
Support and Advocacy for Independent Living (SAIL)
Catholic Charities SAIL program helps youth ages 14 to 21 learn and practice essential life skills.
- 16 youth received case management services that help youth learn the skills they need to live successfully on their own.
Supportive Housing for Youth (SHY)
Catholic Charities SHY program helps homeless youth build stability in their lives, as well as find and maintain affordable housing.
- 138 youth age 16 to 24 were offered housing counseling and financial assistance.
Youth House
Catholic Charities Youth House is a home that is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where youth ages 16 to 24 can live for up to 24 months.
Youth House ensured a clean, safe and healthy home for staff and residents with zero cases of Covid-19. All residents were able to maintain employment.
- 25 youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness committed themselves to positive change while living at Youth House.
Street Outreach
Many young adults in crisis find their way on a successful path with the help of our street outreach worker.
- 1,026 youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness were provided education, referrals, community resources, basic needs and supplies.
Pathways 4 Youth
Pathways 4 Youth is a youth resource center that helps youth experiencing homelessness on a path to grow and become contributing members of our community. From April 2019 until July 2020, Catholic Charities participated in a management agreement with Pathways 4 Youth to provide staffing and support.
- 165 youth ages 16 through 24 were provided a safe and secure environment that helped in meeting their basic needs and in giving them tools to grow.
Catholic Charities provides housing solutions for persons living with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and serious and persistent mental illness, as well as financial and housing counseling and in-home services for persons with disabilities to help keep individuals and families in their homes.
IN-HOME SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The pandemic has greatly impacted both clients and staff of our In-Home program. More than 800 billable hours a week were lost due to consumers or their guardians in fear of catching Covid-19. With schools transitioning to at-home learning, many staff were away from work because of childcare needs and to fears of catching the virus. Several staff soon ran out of personal time-off options and resigned, and finding new staff has been a challenge. Consumers have slowly come back as they’ve been vaccinated but staff to work the hours have not.
- 109 individuals were served through our in-home program, which provides support to persons living with developmental disabilities.
RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Catholic Charities Residential Homes for Persons with Disabilities provides specialized care to adults living with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and serious and persistent mental illness.
- 23 individuals living with developmental disabilities received housing and specialized care across five adult foster care facilities.
- 7 individuals living with physical challenges received housing and specialized care at Catholic Charities CAHI Home, an adult foster care facility.
- 11 adults living with severe and persistent mental illness were provided housing at St. Margaret’s and St. Michael’s Adult Foster Care Residences.
- 35 adults living with severe and persistent mental illness receiving housing and supportive services at St. Elizabeth’s Board and Lodging.
FINANCIAL AND HOUSING COUNSELING
Financial and Housing Counseling helps keep people in their homes and maintain a safe place for their families to live.
Most of our Financial and Housing Counseling Program clients transitioned to phone counseling, and staff continued to meet MNsure clients in-person, ensuring that those who needed health care the most could still be served. The program also partnered with Catholic Charities Food Shelf and Senior Dining, providing outreach and information about housing and rental protections during the pandemic.
- 528 individuals received financial and housing counseling services, including mortgage foreclosure and reverse mortgage counseling, financial literacy education, MNsure navigation, rental counseling, home maintenance and financial management, checkbook service and bankruptcy cases.
Catholic Charities Social Concerns implements ongoing support of parish social ministry within the 16 counties of the Diocese of St. Cloud. The program educates and advocates at the local, state and national levels on legislative issues relevant to the teachings of the Catholic Church, provides support and resources to farm families and rural communities, and leads activities for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in the Diocese of St. Cloud.
Like most of us, Social Concerns moved into the virtual world with meetings and events, including Advisory Council meetings, the diocesan Parish Social Ministry Day and the Rural Life Leadership Development Initiative. Virtual “Conversations of Hope” meetings were created, addressing important concerns like food insecurity, seniors and isolation, issues affecting youth and more.
Social Concerns had to cancel its 2020 Rural Life Celebration and instead of a large-group gathering, hosted a small outdoor Mass, honoring Catholic Century Farm Award recipients.
- 910 individuals received ongoing support for Parish Social Ministry.
- 268 individuals received support from our immigrant and refugee community organizers.
- An additional 1,333 individuals were involved in presentations, meetings and retreats, including 74 who attended the Catholic Century Farm Award event.
- Note: The 2,511 people supported by Social Concerns are not included in the 44,251 people served by Catholic Charities in 2020.
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