The Official Blog of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Do not forsake the poor while focusing on job creation

2010-02-11T15:09:00.003-06:00

In his State of the State today, Gov. Tim Pawlenty outlined his Jobs Creation Bill. We applaud efforts to create jobs in Minnesota, and we expect a strong and vigorous debate about the best way to accomplish that. A basic human right, a job provides people with some of the tools they need to move out of poverty, to rebuild families harmed by the economic downturn, to make strong our under-served communities. Done right, any job creation program could reduce poverty and improve the economy.

However — and this is a strong however — we must not develop job creation programs at the expense of programs to support our most vulnerable neighbors. Last spring's unallotment of medical care for the poorest adults creates real and present harm to those affected. We cannot cut childcare subsidies, health care for children or mental health care for our citizens. Any much-needed jobs creation program cannot come at the expense eliminating support for the most basic of human needs.

While we endorse job creation and the need for stable, living wage work, we must remember our obligation to care for the least among us. And in this situation, caring for them means preserving the funding for programs that meet their most basic needs.

We at Catholic Charities understand the need to do more with less. At the same time our contributions dropped 10 percent, we faced a 40 to 90 percent increase in demand for emergency shelter and visits to our food shelves. We couldn't choose to decrease services when they were most needed simply because our income dropped. We made it work. The state must, as well.

The state must figure out how to stimulate job growth and meet people's most basic needs. The strength of our history lies in compassion and innovation.

Paul Martodam

CEO

With cold weather come new challenges for emergency shelters and drop-in centers

2009-12-10T15:41:00.008-06:00

Freezing cold temperatures and driving snow will force many people experiencing homelessness to seek refuge at one of Catholic Charities' emergency shelters.

Watch the short video below and find out how Catholic Charities deals with the challenges of increased demand caused by the cold Minnesota winter.

2009 Walk to End Hunger

2009-12-01T14:47:00.010-06:00

The 2009 Walk to End Hunger was a huge success for all of those involved. The final numbers are not in yet, but Catholic Charities expects to feed hundreds of families with the proceeds raised at this year's event.

Watch the short video below to get a recap of the event from Catholic Charities' Food Shelf Director Jim Durdle.

Volunteers keep St. Joe's Library in top shape

2009-11-19T11:51:00.008-06:00

Volunteers from the Minneapolis-based law firm Faegre and Benson have taken on the daunting (not really) task of organizing the library at St. Joseph's Home for Children.

The library is a great resource for the children at St. Joe's. Whether a child wants to learn about Abraham Lincoln's presidency or simply follow Harry, Ron and Hermione on an adventure through the halls of Hogwarts, the library is the place to go.

Watch these great volunteers in action in the short video below:

Give to the Max tomorrow!

2009-11-16T10:57:00.003-06:00

Make your gift go further Tuesday, Nov. 17 during Give to the Max Day. Go to Catholic Charities' giving page on GiveMN.org to make your online contribution. All gifts made between 8 a.m. Nov. 17 and 8 a.m. Nov. 18 will receive a portion of a $500,000 match, and 100 percent of your gift will go to Catholic Charities.

Help end poverty in the Twin Cities. Make your gift tomorrow.

Reaching out to those in need at Secure Waiting Space

2009-11-12T14:28:00.004-06:00

Catholic Charities' Secure Waiting Space shelter in downtown Minneapolis provides a safe place to sleep for hundreds of men every night.

Watch this short video and learn more about Secure Waiting from John Petroskas, who works to find housing for some of the men who stay there.

Go to www.cctwincities.org to learn how you can help end poverty in the Twin Cities.

Archbishop names Paul Martodam CEO of Catholic Charities

2009-11-09T09:22:00.010-06:00

The Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, appointed Paul Martodam of Phoenix, AZ, as the new CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Archbishop and Board of Directors will formally introduce Martodam during Catholic Charities’ Annual Meeting Dec. 3. He will begin his duties as CEO Jan. 1, 2010.

Martodam is CEO of Catholic Charities Community Services in Phoenix, a position he has held since 1993. During his time in Arizona, Martodam increased the organization’s revenues from about $8 million to more than $35 million annually and created several new innovative programs to meet the needs of Arizona’s changing population.

"I am indeed pleased to welcome Mr. Paul Martodam as the new chief executive of our Archdiocesan Catholic Charities. A native of Minnesota, he has served the diocese of Crookston, St. Cloud, and most recently Phoenix in the work of Catholic Charities," Nienstedt says. "Besides the obvious administrative skills that he has gained over these years, he has a deep spirituality that motivates his enthusiasm for this ministry. I look forward to working with him in the years to come."

Nienstedt appointed Martodam to the position with the unanimous recommendation of the Catholic Charities Board of Directors Search Committee. The committee conducted a national search to fill the top position at the Twin Cities largest social services agency.

"It is with great humility that I accept the challenge of leadership of this great organization. The outstanding ministry of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis to people who are homeless, children and seniors dealing with significant life issues and struggling families is recognized nationally," Martodam says. "I am eager to engage with our many partners in government, business and philanthropy to build community capacity to reduce poverty and human suffering."

He will take over from Robert Spinner, who has served as interim CEO since June 2009.

Prior to his position as CEO in Phoenix, Martodam served as assistant director of Catholic Charities Community Services of Phoenix. Between 1980 and 1992, he was assistant director of administration for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud.

He holds a bachelor’s in psychology from St. Louis University and a Master’s in Public Administration/NonProfit Administration from St. Cloud State University. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities USA and served on the board of the Council of Accreditation of Children and Family Services and is a founding member of Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition.

"The position attracted many extremely well-qualified candidates from social services, business, government and other fields," says Tom Horner, a member of Catholic Charities Board of Directors who chaired the search committee. "The outstanding field of candidates speaks to the high regard in which Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is held in Minnesota and around the country.

"We were especially gratified that so many were eager to lead Catholic Charities during a time when demand for our services is at a record high, and our ability to meet the demand is challenged by the economy and cuts in public funding," Horner says. "We remain hopeful this diverse group of leaders continues to engage with us to find new and innovative ways to meet the needs of our community."

The CEO of Catholic Charities is appointed by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Martodam will be the first non-priest CEO since a 1977 merger of multiple Catholic social service agencies created Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Northside offers kids and families a safe place to learn and grow

2009-11-05T10:18:00.008-06:00

Northside Child Development Center offers children a rich learning environment — children who attend Northside consistently score higher on kindergarten readiness tests than other kindergartners — and a safe place to go after school.

Watch the video below and learn how Northside positively impacts the lives of the children and families it serves.

Trader Joe's helps fill food shelf gap

2009-10-15T09:35:00.011-05:00

Use of Catholic Charities' food shelves has increased 42 percent in the last year. To help meet that increased demand, Catholic Charities relies on many individuals and organizations who donate food and time to help feed those most in need.

One of those organizations is Trader Joe's. Learn how they help Catholic Charities' food shelves by watching the short video below. As always, feel free to leave feedback in the "Comments" section below.

Find out how you can support Catholic Charities' food shelves.

Join Catholic Charities in the 2009 Walk to End Hunger

2009-10-09T12:13:00.001-05:00

Start a new tradition this Thanksgiving Day and help people in need by taking part in the Walk to End Hunger. Sign up to join Catholic Charities' team and walk with us Thanksgiving Day November 26, 2009 at the Mall of America.

Participants will walk as much or as little as they'd like through the mall. The food drive will gather thousands of non-perishable food items for local hunger relief agencies, including Catholic Charities.

Learn more about Catholic Charities' involvement in the Walk to End Hunger from Catholic Charities' Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Kate Kelly.

We ran out of blankets last night.

2009-10-08T13:45:00.006-05:00

“We ran out of blankets last night.” That note yesterday from a Dorothy Day Center client volunteer continued, “We don’t have enough blankets for the number of people staying here.” Some blankets can’t be used because they have too many holes from being washed so many times.

We found more blankets to fill the gap. But we still need help. 200-250 people sleep at Dorothy Day nightly, including 42 women in the women’s shelter upstairs. A $15 donation covers a hot meal and someone’s night at the shelter. Make a gift now to help the homeless.

Or, see more ways to help.

Poverty rate rising among children

2009-10-01T08:38:00.018-05:00

The 2009 Kids Count report released today by the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota shows that the number of children living in poverty in Minnesota grew to 140,000, up from 106,000 in 2001.

Read this Oct. 1 Star Tribune article for more details on how poverty harms children's development.

Society needs to invest in all people to end poverty and in more programs for kids, such as Northside Child Development Center, says Peter Rosenblatt, director of Children's Services for Catholic Charities.

Northside serves low-income families by providing a quality early childhood development program that improves children's overall functioning and development.

"Kids at Northside score better on kindergarten readiness tests than their peers," Rosenblatt says. "That's even more remarkable when you consider the kids come from homes with incomes between $8,000 and $14,000 a year."

2009-09-29T15:14:00.006-05:00

A Sept. 28 article from startribune.com shows that although poverty in Minnesota hasn't increased much, food shelf use has.

Watch the video below and follow along with Robert Wood as he visits Catholic Charities' Branch I food shelf. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the "Comments" section. Thank you.

Vikings make annual visit to St. Joe's

2009-09-25T10:48:00.023-05:00

St. Joseph's Home for Children received a very special visit from some of its biggest - literally - fans: the Minnesota Vikings.

Six Vikings, including All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson, and the Vikings training staff came to St. Joe's Sept. 22 to encourage the children to exercise for at least 60 minutes every day. The players threw passes and demonstrated agility drills to get the kids moving.

The Vikings' partnership with St. Joe's began in 1998. A group of employee volunteers from Faegre & Benson L.L.P. was on hand as well to help facilitate the event.

Fox Sports Network will feature the event and St. Joe's during the Sunday morning "Vikings Weekly" pregame show. You can find local listing information here. You can also find video from the event on the Vikings' Web site.

Check out some photos from the event:

Funding helps people stay in their homes

2009-09-24T14:46:00.001-05:00

Catholic Charities received funding through the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act to help people at risk of homelessness stay in their homes. The funding will also help people who recently lost their housing to quickly return to stable housing. Read the Star Tribune's Sept. 24 article about the funding.

A word about Catholic Charities and health care reform

2009-09-11T12:09:00.002-05:00

Note: This letter also appears in the Sept. 10 edition of "The Catholic Spirit."

The health care reform debate provides a long-overdue opportunity to discuss the lack of affordable, accessible health care for 46 million people and to bring to the forefront one of Catholicism’s core teachings of social justice, including the right to health care. The need to discuss providing health care to the uninsured and underinsured has never been greater. Thoughtful people can respectfully disagree about how best to control health costs and to ensure access to care and the appropriate role of government. There should be no disagreement, however, on the need to ensure that access to quality, affordable health care does not become a privilege reserved only for a few.

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis (CCSPM) supports the need to reform our health system and to provide coverage to those who have none. However, we have not taken a position on any particular bill introduced in Congress. In all cases, we will continue to strongly and without exception oppose all attempts to include coverage for abortion or any measure that doesn’t protect the inherent dignity and value of all life at all stages.

These principles of justice for the least among us and the absolute commitment to the value and dignity of life at all stages are why so many Minnesotans—Catholics and non-Catholics alike—support CCSPM and our work to change laws and policies that harm those who are most vulnerable. The presence of CCSPM and Catholic Charities USA in public policy debates allows us to inject the values of protecting the innate dignity of all human life from conception through natural death.

Rebecca Lentz
Director of Communications
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Barely getting by

2009-08-26T14:37:00.000-05:00

The video below contains the story of Ch'qita Teagues. Please view her short story — adjust the volume if you need — and leave your feedback in the "Comments" section of our blog. When you've finished, visit Catholic Charities home page and learn more about livable wages in Minnesota.

Local TV show produced by the homeless

2009-08-25T10:30:00.003-05:00

Read and view this incredible piece about homelessness from MinnPost.com. Please leave feedback in the "Comments" section of our blog. Enjoy.

Demand for services way up at Catholic Charities, other nonprofits

2009-08-13T14:59:00.004-05:00

MinnPost's Scott Russell highlights Catholic Charities in his August 13 piece about the increasing strain on nonprofits during the recession.

The effects of eliminating GAMC

2009-08-11T12:36:00.021-05:00

Catholic Charities' clients who use General Assistance Medical Care voiced their grievances about the elimination of the program during a presentation at Branch III Dining and Resource Center August 11.

State legislators and nonprofit activists made brief statements and clients spoke to attorneys from Legal Aid and representatives from Catholic Charities' Office for Social Justice about how the elimination of GAMC will affect them.

"They answered all my questions," said Kenneth Jones, who currently uses GAMC. "I didn't think they'd be able to, because I had a lot of them, but they answered them all."

Below you'll find some videos from the event:

State Sen. Scott Dibble, joined by state Rep. Erin Murphy, addresses the crowd. He said eliminating GAMC "is wrong; this is not how we treat people in Minnesota."

Murphy says she will work hard to fight the GAMC cuts this summer: "We're going to do everything we can. We don't have a lot of tools, but we'll do everything we can to make it right," she said.

The Office for Social Justice plans to host a similar presentation for Catholic Charities' clients who receive services in St. Paul.

Is it now a crime to be poor?

2009-08-10T09:06:00.007-05:00

Op-ed contributor Barbara Ehrenreich explores the criminalization of being poor in this August 9 piece from the New York Times Web site.

She notes a 2006 study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty that found the number of ordinances against the "publicly poor" has risen in the last three years, and that recently state have passed laws against sleeping in public and asking for money.

83-year-old food shelf visitor recalls days in Navy

2009-08-05T12:26:00.005-05:00

The following personal story was written and shared by an 83-year-old client of Catholic Charities' Branch I Food Shelf.

Following my New Jersey high school graduation at age 17, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman in 1942. I was designated as a Radarman and assigned to a destroyer in the Pacific Theatre of Operation. For four years I helped fight the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. On June 10, 1943, two Japanese Kamikaze planes struck our ship in the Philippines.

Our ship did not sink, but we had 56 casualties. Wounded, I went to a Navy hospital. Following my recovery I returned to the United States. The war ended, and in Feb. 1947, I received an honorable discharge. In 1951, the Navy recalled me to active duty on another destroyer to fight in the Korean War.

I returned to my family in New Jersey and in the years after the war I graduated from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and Fordham College in New York.

In 1958, I met a lovely young lady, who later became my wife and mother of my two handsome sons. We moved from New Jersey to Michigan where I took a teaching position. My beautiful wife Lucy and I later moved to Minnesota where I retired. It was here that Lucy contracted a serious debilitating disease. I spent every dollar I had saved to save her life. However, God wanted my Lucy with him in heaven.

My sons live in Ohio and Colorado with happy marriages. I visit them and each time I do they pay for my travel expenses. Each of them wants me to live with one of them, but I like Minnesota too much, despite my limited funds.

I am a volunteer at the local V.A. Hospital and give local talks free to disabled American veterans (I am a member) and four other Veteran agencies.

Thanks to Catholic Charities and their food shelf, I can survive because of their generosity. Bless and thank them from my heart.

Volunteers provide needed respite for caregivers

2009-07-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

The following is the true story of a real Catholic Charities client. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.

About five years ago Martha moved to the country to live with her daughter Valerie. Because of her dementia and frail condition, Martha needed constant supervision and help with activities such as dressing, bathing and feeding. Both Martha and Valerie wished Martha would never have to live in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

Valerie did a wonderful job of caring for her mother, but also experienced stress and exhaustion, as many caregivers of older adults do. She struggled to balance caregiving, her job as a tutor and making ends meet. In need of respite and determined to not put her mother in a facility, Valerie contacted Catholic Charities’ Caregiver Support program for help.

Valerie found time to work and relax with the help of a volunteer through Caregiver Support. Pat visited Martha faithfully each week for a few hours at a time, providing companionship for Martha and peace of mind for Valerie. Later, Valerie and Martha connected with a second volunteer, Linda. Pat and Linda grew to be close friends with both Martha and Valerie.

Valerie often expressed her gratitude for the Caregiver Support program and how much she appreciated the work the volunteers did for her and her mother.

Recently, Martha’s dementia worsened and she became more confused. She often spoke of wanting to “go home.” Over the next few weeks she slowly deteriorated until she passed away peacefully in her own home among her family members.

Valerie was an amazing caregiver who did so much for her mother. Through the support of generous and compassionate volunteers, Valerie continued caring for her mother in her home, and they realized thier goal of avoiding institutional placement for Martha.

A slightly new format

2009-07-15T16:40:00.004-05:00

Catholic Charities' blog will take on a slightly new format in the upcoming months.

Whereas in the past we posted updates about our advocacy work at the State Capitol, we'll now keep you updated on success stories from across the agency. Watch for new posts every Wednesday.

We hope you take these inspiring stories to heart and engage us in conversation by leaving your thoughts in the "Comments" section of the blog.

Thank you and keep reading.

Advocacy does not end

2009-07-08T13:24:00.001-05:00

During the state legislative session, Catholic Charities used this blog as a way to call for justice for people in need, a central piece of our mission. Catholic Charities’ two-fold mission gives equal weight to both charity and justice. That is why we serve those most in need as we call for justice, and we will continue to do so.

This summer, you’ll find new articles here each Wednesday. We’ll continue to share with you stories about the real men and women whose lives have improved because of our staff, volunteers, donors and partners – because of you.

And we’ll continue to raise our voices for the common good. We invite you to raise your voice with us. Leave a comment here, write a letter to the editor, call your legislator or the governor. Advocacy does not end with the closing of the legislative session. Thank you for all you do to serve those most in need and call for justice in the community.

Catholic Charities in the news

2009-07-02T10:33:00.002-05:00

Gov. Pawlenty's plan to use unallotment to fix Minnesota's budget crisis will have a far-reaching effect on those most in need.

This June 30 Catholic Spirit article illustrates just a few examples of that.

John's story

2009-06-24T15:27:00.008-05:00

The following is the story of a former Hope Street resident, as told by Hope Street Director Andrea Simonett.

Several years ago, a youth, I’ll call him John, arrived to Hope Street Shelter dealing with a number of issues. Just before John came to the shelter, his father had been convicted of molesting and murdering a child. John had a lot of difficulty understanding his father’s actions and coming to terms with his relation to someone capable of such an act.

Right away, John wanted help to legally change his name. He did not want to have his name tied to his biological father who had committed such horrific acts. His case manager advocated strongly for the name change, helped with the numerous paperwork requirements and Catholic Charities helped pay the financial costs of the name change.

The name change was monumental in that it gave John a tangible, concrete way to separate himself from his father, which was a first step for him in accomplishing his life goals. His case manager then began working with him on his depression and suicidal thoughts. He moved from our shelter into Hope Street Transitional House and lived there for two years.

During that time he stabilized his mental health issues, graduated from high school, began taking college classes and held a job. He made amazing progress in his personal development and his confidence. He built strong relationships with staff and peers.

Just a few weekends ago, I and a couple of Hope Street staff had the amazing pleasure of attending his graduation from a local college. He graduated with a double major in Philosophy and Psychology. We took him out to dinner to celebrate his achievements.

It was an amazing day.

Andrea Simonett
Program Director
Hope Street for Runaway and Homeless Youth

The poor and vulnerable bear the brunt of the governor’s unallotment plan

2009-06-17T13:49:00.011-05:00

The following is an excellent analysis of the Governor’s plan to balance the budget through unallotment from the Affirmative Options Coalition:

Governor Pawlenty announced his intended budget cuts June 16, which included an additional $236 million in cuts to human services. These cuts add to the almost $500 million in cuts made by the legislature and the $380 million the governor eliminated for health care for the poorest adults through the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program. In total, the cuts to Health and Human Services now total more than $1 billion.

As the numbers of uninsured grow, the poorest adults will lose health care coverage even sooner than was already planned. In the midst of the worst housing crisis in generations, the governor's cuts will eliminate funds to help disabled and unemployable adults avoid homelessness, while funds that pay for homeless shelters and housing for the long-term homeless will be cut as well. The cuts will affect children in a number of ways: less money to help collect child support for children in poor households; less money to serve abused or disabled children and teens.

In addition, low income renters – 28 percent of whom are poor and disabled – will have their renters’ credit reduced. The renters’ credit is a refund given to almost 274,000 Minnesota renters whose property taxes take up a large share of their income. There is more information about the renters’ credit at the MN Budget Project Web site.

The cuts in Human Services include:

Ending the General Assistance Medical Care program that the governor eliminated by line item veto even earlier than his veto required – March 1, 2010 instead of mid-May
The elimination of two emergency assistance programs for poor, disabled and unemployable adults without children (Emergency General Assistance and Emergency MSA)
Cutting payments to homeless shelters, housing for the long-term homeless and board and lodging facilities that offer special services (through Group Residential Housing payments);
Mental health and chemical dependency grants are cut.

There are no cuts proposed to the Minnesota Family Investment Program, Minnesota’s welfare to work program. The complete list of the cuts Governor Pawlenty intends to make can be found here.

The governor is making the cuts through a process called “unallotment." He had vowed to do so when he vetoed a bill the legislature sent him that would have balanced the state budget by raising revenue. Before the unallotments are official, the governor must consult with the Legislative Advisory Council.

The consultation is only advisory – the governor need not heed its advice. The council – whose members include the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader and the chairs of the two House and Senate finance committees – will meet at 3 p.m. on Thursday at the Capitol.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

"Uninsurance is a fatal disease," says doctor

2009-06-12T11:16:00.006-05:00

We've written many times that cutting General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) for single adults will cost Minnesota, both economically and in terms of people's health.

This opinion piece by Dr. Michael Belzer, the medical director of Hennepin County Medical Center, outlines who the uninsured are and the harmful health effects of cutting GAMC.

MinnPost - Uninsurance is a fatal disease

Shared via AddThis

The image of unallotment comes into focus

2009-06-11T11:09:00.004-05:00

The legislative session came to an abrupt end nearly a month ago, but the work of balancing Minnesota’s state budget is far from over.

The Governor did not sign the legislature’s tax proposals, which were designed to provide sufficient revenue for programs that protect people living in poverty. Instead, he will use his power to unallot funds from already-existing programs.

Our friends at the Minnesota Budget Project wrote on their Budget Bites Blog about potential unallotment strategies from the Governor.

They note that cuts will be spread across 30 to 40 programs administered by the Human Services Department. Cuts will come during 2009, and Minnesota runs the risk of losing federal stimulus dollars by making some cuts.

All of these are scary proposals for people living on the margins of society, whose only access to health care, housing or other essential services is through publicly funded programs. These cuts will bring real pain to real people.

We’re interested in hearing your thoughts. How should the leaders of Minnesota balance the budget? How should we protect people living in poverty and crisis?

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Housing worker helps bring family back together

2009-06-10T14:17:00.005-05:00

Rapid Exit Housing Worker Katie Tuione told the following story at Catholic Charities' 2009 Legacy Luncheon, June 10, 2009:

This is a story about two brothers I found housing for. The first brother I worked with had been homeless for less than three months after losing his job. I found him housing in less than 60 days and he got back on his feet.

His brother came to me facing a few more barriers. He was a chronic alcoholic who had been homeless for 20 years, so long that he actually prefered sleeping outside to sleeping inside. After getting him some income I found him an efficiency apartment. He stayed there on a 60-day "trial period" and did extremely well.

After the trial period he moved into a one-bedroom apartment, and while I was there visiting him on a housing check-in — to see how things were going — I noticed he was acting a little strange. I encouraged him to go to the hospital. He did and it turned out he had suffered serious head trauma after falling down a flight of stairs.

It was at this time that I contacted the man's brother, the one I'd helped find housing before. The two brothers had drifted apart over the years, and didn't exactly get along.

However, the brothers came together again and have since reconciled. In fact, they got together with some other family members just last week as a sort of family reunion.

I work on the front lines every day, and this story is just one example of the kind of work Catholic Charities does. It's the kind of work that we must continue doing, because the people we help really need us, in so many ways.

Catholic Charities will have new leadership, but mission remains the same

2009-06-02T13:34:00.007-05:00

When Archbishop John Nienstedt asked me to serve as interim CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The work of Catholic Charities and the dedication of its staff and supporters impressed me before and during my tenure on the board of directors. I served on the Catholic Charities Board of Directors for seven years, serving as chair of the board for the last two, from January 2007 through December 2008.

The opportunity to help Catholic Charities during its transition was one I couldn’t pass up.

I’m a retired hospital executive with Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Allina Hospitals and Clinics, and I have bachelor’s degrees in accounting and economics from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota.

Taking this interim position gives the board time to conduct a thorough and thoughtful national search for a permanent CEO. In most Catholic Charities agencies around the country, lay people serve as CEO and handle the day-to-day operations of the agency. With the approval of the Archbishop, the board will conduct a search that will focus on lay candidates. The Archbishop will decide what role a priest will have in Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. No priest has been named to serve Catholic Charities. We will keep you updated on this process — via this blog, our Web site, our Facebook fan page and e-mail alerts — as decisions are made.

Change can be difficult. But our focus at Catholic Charities remains on serving those most in need, on ensuring those who cry out the least and suffer the most have a voice in the halls where decisions are made.

The just-concluded legislative session left us much work to do and many obstacles to overcome. You will continue to find Catholic Charities front and center, advocating for health care access for all and ensuring that people’s most basic needs of food, shelter, health care, education and work are met.

At St. John’s, I was schooled in the Benedictine tradition. One of St. Benedict’s well-known prayers says: “Listen carefully and attend with the ear of your heart.”

For those of us who work with people who are most in need, for you who graciously support the work of Catholic Charities, who speak on behalf of those who often go unheard, that prayer contains much wisdom and direction.

If we listen carefully to those we meet, if we truly hear their stories and learn about their lives, we cannot help but further resolve ourselves to ending poverty and bringing justice to our community.

Robert Spinner

Robert Spinner will become interim CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis on June 8, 2009.

An important message from Catholic Charities CEO Fr. John Estrem

2009-06-02T13:25:00.009-05:00

In the tenure of all leaders, there comes a time when they must step back and take stock of life and whether they should continue on their current path. For me, that time is now.

I am resigning as CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis effective June 30, 2009. Archbishop John Nienstedt has accepted my resignation. Please be assured this was entirely my decision and was made freely.

My last day will be June 30, 2009. At the board’s recommendation, the Archbishop appointed Bob Spinner, former board chair, as interim CEO. He will begin serving as CEO on June 8, 2009. Bob is a retired hospital executive with Allina Hospitals and Clinics and served as chair of the Catholic Charities Board of Directors from January 2007 to December 2008.

Transitions are difficult, but we must remain focused on the agency’s core mission to serve those most in need. Catholic Charities remains financially sound and is blessed with strong leadership in its board and senior staff.

Though they didn’t anticipate my resignation, the board of directors has discussed succession planning during the last several years. In most Catholic Charities agencies around the country, lay people serve as CEO and handle the day-to-day operations of the agency.

With the approval of the Archbishop, the board will conduct a search that will focus on lay candidates. The Archbishop will decide what role a priest will have in Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. No priest has been named to serve Catholic Charities. The board and Bob Spinner will keep you updated on this process and as decisions are made.

My resignation and the decision to hire a lay candidate for CEO in no way changes the relationship between the archdiocese, church and Catholic Charities. That tie is as important today as it was last week.

It has been a distinct and humbling privilege to work at Catholic Charities.

And the work continues.

More than ever, we stand at a crossroads in our country. We face choices that determine how we regard the least among us and how we as a society provide for people’s basic needs of food, shelter and health care.

Catholic Charities faces unprecedented demand for its services. The number of people sleeping on the floor of the Dorothy Day Center increased 40 percent in a year. Between July 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, the number of women seeking prenatal care at Catholic Charities increased 47 percent compared to the same time period a year ago. The number of people using our food shelves increased 40 percent between January 2009 and March 2009.

We must address the very real issue of how we as a society will meet everyone’s basic needs. We must continue to put Christ’s compassion into action by speaking of behalf of those who often go unheard. Additional and continued cuts to health and human services funding must not stand.

The leadership of Catholic Charities will change. Its dedication to those most in need will not. Giving voice to those who go unheard must continue to be our one and only focus.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Strib columnist raises his voice for the common good

2009-06-01T09:47:00.006-05:00

In his May 31 column Nick Coleman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says "demonizing the poor" will not fix Minnesota's budget problems. Catholic Charities CEO Fr. John Estrem is quoted in the column.

Post your thoughts about the column at the end of this blog post.

The high cost of being poor

2009-05-27T16:45:00.004-05:00

In Catholic Charities' Understanding Poverty presentation, Allison Boisvert talks about her experience trying to perform the simple act of doing laundry:

“The simplest of chores become monumental. The whole notion of washing clothes becomes this huge event … I had these three kids, I don’t have a car, and it’s now the third week of not having washed clothes. We don’t have a lot of clothes to begin with, so the clothes have been worn over and over again.

“I pack everything into black plastic bags, call a cab and hope that the cab comes, because he might not, because he knows you’re a bad fare – he’s not getting a tip. You wait for the cab to come … and you schlep these black plastic bags out along with the kids in tow because you can’t afford a babysitter.

“He drops you off at the curb and you bring all these bags in. Now you’ve got to buy soap and bleach out of these machines. It’s very expensive. Then you have to stand by your machines to make sure nobody takes your clothes out; that nobody steals your clothes.”

Allison’s story illustrates how challenging it is for people living in poverty to do things I take for granted. Her experiences offer a stark reminder of how difficult simple things when you don’t have easy access to resources.

This article from the May 18th edition of The Washington Post (free registration required) covers the same territory – the poor pay more for groceries and other products, but people living in poverty also pay more in time, in hassle, in frustration.

When we think about helping people who struggle in poverty, we need to remember how blessed we truly are, and remember that we should work to make the lives of others less challenging.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Cutting GAMC will hurt in the future

2009-05-26T14:56:00.003-05:00

This opinion piece from the May 23 Minneapolis Star Tribune looks into the long-lasting effects of Gov. Pawlenty's veto of General Assistance Medical Care.

Feel free to leave your thoughts about this article at the end of this blog post.

Budget deficit might have been avoided

2009-05-20T11:23:00.005-05:00

My colleague Patrick Ness described his feelings about his work in these final days at the Capitol with passion and honesty. From my years of experience doing policy advocacy, I can understand and empathize with his disappointment.

But as much as I share in his disillusionment with the final outcome, this wasn’t my worst experience of state decision making. Given the tough economic times we face, I can almost understand a focus on scarcity.

My darkest days came when, in the face of abundance, we failed to enhance programs like MinnesotaCare and failed to increase the state’s reserve fund. Instead, we chose to cut vehicle emissions, cut income taxes and rebate the surplus back to individuals.

These decisions, made by the legislature and Gov. Ventura, explain in part why we have such a huge budget deficit in the first place. My greatest disappointment came when we stared bounty in the face and refused to invest in the common good over individual tax cuts and rebates.

I don’t believe we should have taxes for taxes' sake; but I do believe we should invest when necessary and save for a rainy day when we have surpluses.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Eliminating funds for GAMC hurts the most vulnerable among us

2009-05-19T15:56:00.003-05:00

The lack of a budget agreement at the legislature should give lawmakers, political activists and special interest groups pause.

But that frustration and irritation shouldn’t be what keeps them or any of us up at night.

Nor should the hundreds of people who will lose their health insurance next year keep them awake.

The elimination of funding for GAMC and the threats to other health and human services funding creates real and inexcusable hardship for our brothers and sisters.

As appalling as all this is, what should keep politicians on both sides of the aisle awake is that we have failed to live up to our moral and civic obligation to care for the least among us.

Simply avoiding the conversation about identifying adequate revenue doesn’t solve the problem. It merely delays it until next year. By then, the number of people needing state-funded insurance will increase. And there is no guarantee that some of us won’t be among them.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

End of legislative session brings harsh realities as Pawlenty eliminates GAMC

2009-05-18T15:14:00.018-05:00

Yesterday was the most difficult day I have ever spent at the Capitol. The Minnesota legislative session will come to a close today, and will do so with a bitter end for those seeking compassion for the most vulnerable in our community.

On Thursday evening, Governor Pawlenty line-item vetoed $381 million for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). This decision eliminates this program in April 2010, causing 35,000 single adults, most earning less than $7,800 per year, to lose basic physical and mental health care. Many GAMC recipients live on only $203 per month from General Assistance, or $2,436 per year. Now, most of them will have to do without health care.

Last night, the House of Representatives attempted a veto override of the GAMC elimination, which requires a two-thirds vote of the House. After passionate and emotional speeches from representatives that touched on the religious values and principles that are at the foundation of caring for the most vulnerable, they took the vote. Unfortunately, the vote went along straight party lines and the override attempt failed by a vote of 87-47. An override of the veto required 90 votes.

Three men currently on GAMC came to bear witness to the decisions made yesterday. Robert, Sam and Henry all earn $203 per month and have been unable to work due to health conditions.

Robert owned a business in the past, but fell upon health issues and hard times.

Sam has a degenerative disc problem in his back and was relegated to a painful life stuck in his apartment. Through GAMC, he received chiropractic services. His recovery is going so well that he hopes to find a job in the coming months.

Because of GAMC, Henry could afford a hearing aid that has given him 30 percent hearing in one ear. If his hearing aid breaks down after losing coverage, he will no longer be able to afford the “privilege” of hearing.

Robert, Sam and Henry left the Capitol yesterday worried about how they’ll care for their own needs without health coverage. They worried more, however, about their many friends who are worse off than they are. What will they do?

I believe this issue speaks to the state of our collective soul. In tough times, who will we look toward to solve our problems? Will we pull together and invest in the priorities that have made our state great in the past, or will we close ranks and put those with the worst conditions and least political power in the crosshairs of our final budget solution?

The apparent answer makes my heart heavy. For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of this state I love so much.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Office for Social Justice

Urgent action alert!

2009-05-15T09:58:00.009-05:00

Late last night, Governor Pawlenty signed the Health & Human Services bill. While this is the action we advocated for, he regretfully used his line item veto power to strike the entire $381 million appropriation for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC).

While we recognize that times are tough and cuts must be made, this veto undermines some our core values of the common good, human dignity and compassion for the poor.

GAMC provides basic health coverage for the poorest single adults in our state. Nearly 30,000 men and women, most of whom make about $200 per month in income, lose all health coverage with the Governor's decision. $200 equals $7.15 per day. Imagine living on $7.15 per day, and then being asked to carry an enormous burden in solving the state budget deficit.

About 350 of Catholic Charities' clients have access to health care through GAMC. When the most most vulnerable adults lose their health care safety net, they will wait until a treatable symptom becomes a serious illness or disease, and then local emergency rooms (and tax payers) will foot the bill.

Most importantly, some people will likely die because they will no longer have access to basic health care. This is not rhetoric or empty of real consequence. The decisions being made in St. Paul in the next few days will have a very real and lasting effect on the most vulnerable among us.

The 2009 legislative session will end at midnight this Monday. Governor Pawlenty has indicated that he will not call a special session. If the budget is not balanced by the beginning of the new fiscal year (July 1st), the Governor will have the authority to reduce spending and cancel programs at his discretion.

It is essential that Governor Pawlenty, the Speaker of the House and your State Representative hear from you TODAY.

Message:

Tell the Governor (651-296-3391) that you are asking him to protect General Assistance Medical Care from cuts.
Tell Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (651-296-0171) that Minnesota must continue fighting for the most vulnerable and the services like GAMC that serve them.
Tell your Representative that you are strongly opposed to any cuts to GAMC and that you're willing to pay higher taxes, and request that they deliver the same message to Governor Pawlenty. (See http://www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/ to find your legislator's contact information).

Partner with NAMI to protect mental health services

2009-05-13T15:07:00.011-05:00

As the 2009 Minnesota legislative session rushes toward its conclusion, lawmakers continue debating and deciding upon important legislation. The time is critical to advocate for justice for people living in poverty in our community.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) budget bill has been the center of attention for several days, because it sets up the funding mechanisms for programs that support people living on the margins. The first version of the HHS budget bill currently sits on the Governor’s desk, waiting for his signature or veto. While the HHS budget bill contains significant cuts to hospitals and nursing homes, other programs – particularly programs that support people living in poverty – will continue or expand.

Mental health services remain well supported by the legislature’s version of the HHS budget. Mental health service providers didn’t suffer cuts as deep as other health programs, and key supports remained intact. As mental health care needs continue to expand, mental health care programs must remain funded. The Governor’s signature on this version of the HHS budget bill would allow for the funding of these essential programs.

We’re forwarding along an Action Alert from our friends at NAMI – the National Association for the Mentally Ill – to invite you to the Capitol tomorrow to rally for the protection of state mental health programs. Please see below, or visit http://www.namihelps.org/ for more information.

Do you believe that mental health services shouldn't be cut?
Do you believe that mental health care providers can't afford to have their payments from the state cut by 3 percent?
Do you believe that children and adults with mental illness need support to live, learn, and work in the community?
Do you believe that providers will close their doors if their funding is cut?
Do you believe that thousands of people will lose their jobs in hospitals, nursing homes, residential facilities and community programs if rates are cut?
Do you believe that children and adults with mental illnesses have a right to access care when and where they need it?

If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, then join us at the Minnesota State Capitol on Thursday.

We urge all NAMI members and friends to take some time off over the lunch hour and head to the Capitol to show your support for mental health services. We will meet at 11:30 a.m. on the second floor outside the House chambers. Depending on what happens, we may go to the Senate chambers or the Governor's office. We need you to show up. We will have signs available, or you can bring your own. It really DOES make a difference. Please care enough to show up.

If you cannot attend, please call the Governor's office and state that you are "a friend of NAMI" and urge the Governor to increase revenues to protect mental health services. His contact information is as follows:

Telephone: (651) 296-3391

Toll Free: (800) 657-3717

E-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Thanks everyone. Together we CAN make a difference.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

The Time for Advocacy is Now: The First Draft of the Health and Human Services Budget Bill Sent to the Governor

2009-05-12T16:51:00.003-05:00

The Health and Human Services (HHS) conference committee met into the wee hours of Sunday morning to craft a budget bill to send to the Governor. This budget is now on its way to the Governor. As we’ve written before, these last few days of the session will require all of us to make sure we’re raising our voices to protect programs that support people living in poverty and crisis.

Here’s the good news: despite cutting $500 million from the HHS slice of the budget, the HHS budget bill actually does some good things. It adds 20,000 children to public health insurance programs. Children in foster care won’t age out of health programs. It avoids dangerous penalties to the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP). About 113,000 low-income Minnesotans retain their health care eligibility. $3 million goes toward programs to end long-term homelessness. Runaway and homeless youth programs are funded.

But it’s certainly not all good news. The bill includes deep, deep cuts to hospitals. Personal care attendants (PCAs), who serve the elderly and low-income people with disabilities, have their rates cut. The most vulnerable Minnesotans are still at risk.

And, as bad as these cuts are, things could get much worse. This bill cuts $500 million from the HHS budget, but the state doesn’t even have that much funding unless they’re able to raise more revenue. The budget is based on new revenue that was included in both the House and Senate tax bills. Any reduction in those new revenues will translate into deeper cuts in the Health & Human Services bill.

We need you to call or email Governor Pawlenty and your legislators today. Ask them to protect the programs that serve Minnesota’s most vulnerable residents. You can reach Governor Pawlenty at 651-296-3391 or tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us. You can find your representative at the Capitol by visiting http://www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/ or by calling 651-296-2146. Thank you for continuing to raise your voice for the common good.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Catholic Charities' Housing First in the news

2009-05-11T15:10:00.009-05:00

In a Star Tribune commentary yesterday, Eric Schubert talks about the need for social justice in the church and how Catholic Charities' Housing First Program successfully moves people from long-term homelessness to stable housing. You can find Schubert's commentary and comments about it here.

The opportunities to give voice to those who often go unheard remain, sadly, plentiful. As lawmakers and the governor tangle over which programs they will sacrifice in the name of a short-term budget fix, the need to raise our voices for the common good has never been more critical.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

The complicated conversation on revenue

2009-05-06T14:07:00.007-05:00

On this blog, and elsewhere throughout our advocacy division this legislative session, we’ve talked a lot about potential cuts to programs that support individuals and families. The House and the Senate are debating how to balance the budget, and there’s the possibility that General Assistance Medical Care, MinnesotaCare and the Minnesota Family Investment Program – programs that support low-income people – will all suffer cuts.

But the reality is that you get what you pay for. Because of the downturn in the economy, more Minnesotans have increased need, and things do not look much better in the near future. We need to raise the revenue required to fund programs that support people living in poverty and crisis.

Fortunately, there’s a conversation in Minnesota around this very issue. Our Catholic Bishops have recently published a powerful letter that frames the question this way: “Do the spending and revenue raising provisions of Minnesota’s budget reflect justice? Do they promote the common good?”

The aim of this blog is to promote conversations about the common good the Bishops refer to, and we, like the bishops, believe that “resolving the budget deficit through spending cuts alone will do great harm to Minnesotans and our economy.”

Our partners in the faith, labor and nonprofit communities have formed the “Invest in Minnesota” coalition to inform their legislators that they want fair taxes to be part of the solution that adequately funds our public services. They will meet at noon on Monday, May 11 at the state capitol rotunda for a rally and to organize meetings with legislators. You can learn more at the Invest in Minnesota Web site.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Protect GAMC – health care that supports vulnerable people in Minnesota

2009-05-04T15:56:00.008-05:00

One of the most egregious cuts included in the Governor’s budget are services for those on General Assistance Medical Care. Catholic Charities' client base alone includes 349 of the 32,000 people on GAMC. While the program itself wasn’t canceled, most of the services were cut. Services cut include: in-patient hospital care, dental services, radiology, eyeglasses, occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy or audiology services.

Hospitals around the state acknowledge that there are 20,000 emergency room visits for dental care each year, which will dramatically increase if people cannot access less costly preventative care.

Hennepin County Medical Center estimates that the Governor’s budget would have a $50 million dollar annual impact on that facility alone.

Imagine what kind of impact this direction would have if the new H1N1 flu outbreak does become a pandemic and begins to spread through the Twin Cities.

If you are willing to spend a few more tax dollars to make sure that the most vulnerable people in our community are not without health care, please let the leadership at the Capitol know it.

Contact Information:

Speaker of the House Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher: rep.margaret.kelliher@house.mn or 651-296-0171

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Larry Pogemiller: Web contact form or 651-296-7809

Governor Tim Pawlenty: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us or 651-296-3391

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Moving from hatred to forgiveness

2009-04-29T16:00:00.011-05:00

Last night, Mary Johnson spoke in St. Paul to a meeting co-sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the CSJ Criminal Justice Working Group and the Office for Social Justice.

Mary’s life changed forever in February 1993 when her 20-year-old son was murdered at an after-hours party in North Minneapolis. After her son’s murderer was arrested and convicted, Mary engaged in a multi-year journey to move toward forgiving him. This challenge changed not only her life, but the lives of her son’s murderer and those victims and offenders she works with today.

As she spoke, I noticed some parallels between her story and the story that we share as a community.

It took Mary time to move from hatred and animosity to forgiveness. It seems as if we harbor resentment and hatred for ex-offenders as they exit incarceration and try to re-enter society. Whereas Mary undertook a personal journey that involved meeting and personally forgiving the person who murdered her son, society can move toward forgiveness through changes in public policy that can make it easier for ex-offenders to find employment, housing and access to critical social services.

I’ve never been harmed by someone in such a tragic way, and I hope you haven’t, either. But we all must move toward forgiveness together. We can emulate Mary’s amazing transformation. The time is now for our community to start moving toward forgiveness for ex-offenders.

You can learn more about Mary Johnson in this article from The Catholic Spirit, and more about Second Chance legislation and how you can help by contacting the Office for Social Justice at 651-291-4477.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Temporary health care fix wil only delay long-term pain

2009-04-28T10:24:00.012-05:00

The most recent round of House and Senate proposals to balance the state budget carves out chunks of money to health care providers — hospitals, doctors, clinics — and preserves eligibility requirements. The governor promises a sure and swift veto, saying we need more cuts and that the state cannot afford to provide care at the level it's currently provided.

He ought to rethink that position.

Cutting payments to providers serves no one. That temporary fix only delays long-term pain and the need to identify new revenue.

The state, society and the country cannot afford to cut health care services at a time when more people rely on the state’s safety net to cover their most basic health care needs. We’re not discussing elective surgery. We’re talking about access to the emergency room, coverage for preventative care, rehabilitative services after a stroke and podiatric care for people with diabetes.

The cost of not providing the care will far surpass any savings the governor or anyone else erroneously believes they will find by eliminating access to services.

An article by a University of Minnesota researcher published in February reported that “homeless patients stayed 4.1 days or 36 percent longer per hospital admission on average than other patients even after adjustments were made for clinical and demographic characteristics.”

Though not discussed specifically, I imagine increased hospital stays carry over to those who delayed care because they lacked insurance. That’s a lot of taxpayer and hospital-charitable dollars that likely could have been saved with earlier interventions.

Call the governor and your representatives in the House and Senate and let them know how you feel. You can find their contact information here.

The time for the tough conversations — with one another and our lawmakers — about identifying new sources of funding and ensuring everyone has access to basic and preventative health care can no longer wait. We cannot continue to patch the gaping wound of health care with Band Aids.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Busy days ahead at the Minnesota Legislature – who will speak for the poor?

2009-04-27T16:14:00.003-05:00

As winter turns to spring in Minnesota, the pace of life begins to move more quickly. People want to spend time on their yards or outside playing in the nicer weather. It just seems like Minnesota picks up the pace with the coming of spring.

The pace of life is also picking up at the Minnesota legislature. You’ll hear a lot in the news about revenues that could be raised and programs that might be cut. As an anti-poverty organization, Catholic Charities commits to protecting the programs that work with people living in poverty and crisis.

This year, as Minnesota faces a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall, protecting programs will be particularly challenging.

As you walk the halls of the Minnesota’s beautiful state capitol building and ride the elevators in the State Office Building, you’re surrounded by lobbyists. All of them are there to protect the interests of their clients, and that’s great. We have a robust political dialogue in Minnesota, and lobbyists are an essential part.

But people living in poverty and crisis can’t hire lobbyists. They rely on nonprofit organizations such as Catholic Charities to advocate in their interest, and most importantly, we rely on you and your voice.

In the next few weeks, things will become more busy and hectic. As such, it will be essential for you use your voice to speak for justice. Please follow this blog, where we’ll be posting action opportunities and issue updates.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

What if we were the refugees or immigrants?

2009-04-23T16:42:00.001-05:00

It seems likely that people who have fallen on hard times might be tempted to travel four hundred miles north into Canada if they knew there was a job at the end of their journey.

What if migrating to Canada could save their families from mortgage foreclosure and homelessness, or provide the resources they need to meet their families’ basic needs?

This is the same motivation behind those who have immigrated to the United States from countries to our south. Men and women, both with and without documents, made the trek to the United States with the hope that they could offer their families a better life.

Similarly, if families here were subject to the same lawlessness and dangerous chaos that’s in Somalia, they would probably not hesitate to seek refugee status in another country. We have seen families from far away find refuge in the cold state of Minnesota. Certainly, a country whose current claim to fame is armed pirates hijacking freighters off the coast doesn’t offer much family stability.

People coming from various parts of the world and various cultures essentially want the same thing: We all seek peace, safety and an opportunity to “make a go of it” in support of our families.

Kathy Tomlin
Director, Office for Social Justice

Ending poverty will require changes in policy and lifestyle

2009-04-21T16:03:00.006-05:00

Yesterday about 100 people met in St. Paul to discuss how to address poverty and what the next big initiative to end it will be.

Catholic Charities USA, the national organization to which Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis belongs, held a summit on ending poverty. Participants included social service workers, politicians, critical thinkers and business leaders.

The discussion centered around what we must pursue as the next big national anti-poverty initiative.

And it will take a big policy initiative, a bold change to how government and businesses and social services and churches approach poverty.

But it will also take a bold change on each of our parts. We cannot continue to simply divide the same-sized pie. One participant yesterday boldly and correctly stated that we must stop the redistribution of wealth because today, that redistribution favors those who already have.

Each of us must be willing to adjust our lifestyles in order that others may survive and, someday, thrive.

We must, to quote the adage, live simply so that others may simply live.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Real people, real stories

2009-04-20T13:32:00.002-05:00

Any of us can find ourselves in unexpected and unavoidable crises – debilitating illnesses, disabling injuries, lost jobs, fragile family supports. State revenue shortfalls threaten the network of public, private and nonprofit health care and social services Minnesotans need when they or their families experience those crises.

We need to tell these stories, and we need your help. Please visit http://aboutusall.org/ and help tell the story of how deep cuts to health care, nursing homes, child care, supportive housing or other core services will affect you or someone you know.

Forward this Web site to friends and family across the state, post a photo of yourself or a loved one, and help tell the real stories of real people. Our elected officials face difficult decisions in the coming weeks, but it's our job to tell the stories behind the numbers.

You can help tell the story of real Minnesotans.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Office for Social Justice

No one deserves to be cast aside

2009-04-16T13:42:00.006-05:00

Perhaps one of the biggest hits to come across YouTube in its history features a 47-year-old woman from England competing for a professional singing contract.

The opening moments of the segment show Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old unemployed woman who didn’t fit the audience’s or judges' perceptions of how or what a singer should look or be. The youngest of seven children, she cared for her aging parents until they died. She had been bullied in school and said she’d never been married or kissed. Many in the audience and even the judges snickered at the thought of this woman performing.

And then she started singing, shattering every misconception and blowing away the judges, the audience and millions of people worldwide. The YouTube clips reportedly have more than 11 million views in the last five days.

It reminded me of a homily from Good Friday when Fr. John Malone talked how Christ lies in many graves, including the graves we create when we mock or laugh at people we don’t understand, those who live on the edges of society.

We can easily find ourselves casting aside people such as Susan Boyle or those Fr. Malone mentioned, the ones society determines don’t deserve investment.

It’s simply wrong.

As lawmakers grapple with closing the $6 billion budget shortfall, we must remind them to invest in all people, to not allow them to cast aside anyone. Cutting services such as health care, mental health care, housing, support for child care for single mothers and early childhood education may temporarily balance the budget.

But it creates far greater, far larger, far longer-lasting problems, pushes off the issue until the next time and denies people the opportunity to reach their full human potential.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Legislation Update

2009-04-15T16:20:00.006-05:00

From our partners at the Council on Crime and Justice, we offer this update on the “Second Chance” legislation moving forward at the Capitol. Each of these bills would have a dramatic impact on the lives of men and women who exit incarceration and make an effort to re-enter society.

Last week marked another milestone at the Minnesota legislature: the “2nd deadline.” This means that policy bills must have passed committees in both the House and Senate to “stay alive.” This deadline also marked the introduction of policy omnibus bills – large compilations of smaller bills that will go to the floor of each body together and then must be turned into a mirror image through a joint House/Senate conference committee.

Many second chance bills are still alive and kicking. See below for details and keep reading for updates.

Public Employment Consideration of Criminal Records (“Ban the Box”)
This bill requires Minnesota public employers select an applicant for an interview before inquiring about criminal records, except for positions with a statutory background check requirement.

Status: Passed committees in both bodies and included in Senate and House public safety policy omnibus bills – SF993 and HF1301

Expungement Modification
This legislation adds all types of dismissed records to the expungement statute, provides for expedited expungement in non-conviction cases with prosecutor agreement.

Status: Did not pass a full House committee, passed House Criminal Records Division and Senate Judiciary, unsure of final status.

Safe Hiring of Individuals with Criminal Records
Clarifies and narrows private employer liability for hiring individuals with criminal records, including making certain records inadmissible in a civil lawsuit.

Status: Passed Senate Judiciary, never heard in House, Included in Senate public safety policy omnibus bill - SF993.

Higher Education Notice
This bill requires all Minnesota post-secondary education institutions to notify applicants that, if they have a criminal record, they should investigate whether or not the criminal record will bar them from employment in their chosen field of study.

Status: Passed Senate Higher Ed and Judiciary, not heard in House, Included in Senate Higher Education omnibus bill.

Voting Rights
Restores the civil rights of an individual upon release from incarceration.

Status: Passed Senate Judiciary and State and Local Government, included in Senate public safety omnibus bill – SF993.

Provides for notification of current restoration of voting rights.
SF 763 - Moua HF554 – Champion

Status: Made deadlines in both the Senate and House.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Lawmakers need to look beyond the immediate future

2009-04-14T16:12:00.005-05:00

Today, Minnesota legislators returned to the unenviable task of finding $6 billion to close the state budget gap. State law mandates they adjourn with a balanced budget by mid-May.

That money will be found either through increased revenue, cuts to programs or some combination of both. We’ve spent much of the last three months on this blog talking about the real and devastating effect cuts to social services — health care, housing, mental health care — will have on the thousands of men, women and children we serve every day.

We at Catholic Charities aren’t policy experts. Policy remains the responsibility of lawmakers. But we know what works. And we know what doesn’t. Investing in people works. As painful and exhausting as it is, we must look beyond this biennial budget and realize that the only way to economic prosperity as a community, as a state, comes by investing in people.

Often a relatively small investment of time and money keeps people from moving into poverty. We invite policymakers to visit our programs and find out what works and what doesn’t. Contact us at ceo@ccspm.org.

We cannot continue to function as we have, by cutting this and trimming that and thinking that someday, we’ll fix it and rebuild gutted programs.

That someday is now.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Public policy decided by those who show up

2009-04-08T13:57:00.006-05:00

Public policy is the art and science of how we, as members of our community, decide to organize ourselves. We can set priorities, make decisions and the money will flow from there. While public policy belongs to the people, too often the priorities are set and decisions are made by insiders with narrow interests.

What would happen if we strengthened the connection between the community and our public policies?

Right now, the HIRE Minnesota coalition is working on public policy that will ensure equity for low-income people in jobs created by building our public infrastructure (roads, highways, light rail, etc) and the emerging green economy.

Yesterday, a Minnesota Senate committee hearing focused on a bill that would spend nearly $200 million for energy efficiency programs, primarily the weatherization of public buildings and low-income homes. Low-income construction students preparing to enter the job market showed up with their reflective vests and hard hats as representatives of HIRE Minnesota.

The students’ motto: "be prepared; be heard."

Ellis, a young man in his 20s from north Minneapolis, will graduate in two weeks. He spoke of how excited he would be to get his first job and a regular paycheck. He described what it would feel like to support himself and the ones he loves. But he's is also very uncertain about his prospects for securing the job he wants so badly.

Ellis and the other students came to the Capitol to call for training dollars for low-income workers and accountability measures to ensure that the federal recovery dollars reach all communities, especially those disproportionately affected by poverty.

The continued presence of the students and their supporters has dramatically altered the conversation and the policies that will guide these investments. When the community connects with policy in a powerful way, we begin to see the priorities of that community set into law.

Please join us in our efforts – because our public decisions are made by those who show up. HIRE Minnesota invites you to join Ellis and thousands of others at 3:00 pm on April 20th at the State Capitol. For more information, please visit www.hiremn.org.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Office for Social Justice

Now is the time to invest in our people

2009-04-07T13:41:00.006-05:00

Former Senator John Edwards talks about the two Americas.

Now, Edwards’ morals leave much to be desired. But he’s right about the two Americas. We live in a country economically divided. And those divisions lead to the “why don’t they” or “can’t they” questions about people living in poverty and making what many would deem bad decisions.

People who live in poverty don’t think strategically as I do or, as I would guess, you do. They don’t have that luxury. It’s about daily survival, the here and now. One study asked children to draw a picture of the future. The children from middle and upper class families drew pictures of what they wanted to be. The children who live in poverty couldn’t complete the assignment. Because they don’t know how to think about tomorrow because their parents don’t have that option.

The legislature this week begins hammering out the differences between the House Democrats’ and Republicans’ and Senate Democrats’ and Republicans’ proposals to close the $6 billion gulf in the state’s budget. The proposals range from cutting funding for housing to cutting funding for education to raising taxes to a combination of any and all of the above.

The fundamental question isn’t whether we should fund education or housing or health care. The fundamental question is whether we want to invest in people. And that investment requires resources, something our state sorely lacks. It’s time to have the hard conversation about revenue so we can invest in all people.

That’s where we stand. Talk with us and each other about why you agree or disagree. We’re at a crossroads. We can choose to continue to have two Americas, where some succeed and others fail. Or we can choose to invest in all people, in meeting everyone’s basic needs.

Fr. John Estrem

CEO

Home is more than just a place to live

2009-04-06T15:40:00.012-05:00

The state of Minnesota has made a commitment to ending homelessness through its ambitious “Heading Home Minnesota” plan and other programs that work to end long-term homelessness. Through state-supported bonding dollars, Minnesota has built more than 2,500 permanent supportive housing opportunities that are affordable for people trying to escape poverty.

More than 500 families have found stable housing through Catholic Charities Housing First effort, which began in 2005.

But these achievements did not just happen because there was a place for people to live. It happened because they also received the supportive services that made it possible for their housing to continue long term.

If we are truly committed to ending homelessness, we need to provide essential supportive services to people who are working their way out of poverty and into stable housing situations.

Due to Minnesota’s current budget crisis, funds that provide supportive services to people working to escape homelessness are in danger of being cut. Without these services, people working to escape long-term homelessness are less likely to succeed and stay off the streets.

Fortunately, legislation like House File 1491 and Senate File 2026 would restore $3 million to the supportive housing services budget.

We need to make sure these supportive housing services are in the budget. If not, those who are currently housed risk losing their housing.

Organizations like Catholic Charities will no longer be able to commit to building new housing to end long-term homelessness if the operating dollars necessary to fund services won't be there to keep people stable.

Kathy Tomlin, Director, Office for Social Justice
Adam Robinson, Organizer, Office for Social Justice

Counseling services vital to individual and family health

2009-04-02T15:10:00.002-05:00

It didn’t surprise me that Catholic Charities' Counseling Services has seen an increase in the number of people seeking counseling.

That the number of people on the waiting list increased by 50 percent did surprise me.

The stress of the economy on individuals and families cannot be underestimated. I’m grateful that people feeling the stress seek counseling for themselves and their families. I’m concerned, however, about cutbacks in state and federal funding to pay for mental health services.

Research clearly supports the link between mental health and an individual’s or family’s ability to succeed. We must ensure that funding for mental health services remains intact and that we as a community identify additional resources to provide this critically needed service.

We at Catholic Charities serve those in need and advocate for changes to the law and for help for those in need. But we can only do so much. We need your help, your commitment, your voice. Please, call your legislators. Tell us what’s on your mind. Give us ideas and feedback. We cannot do it alone.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

GAMC provides necessary health coverage for those in need

2009-04-01T13:45:00.003-05:00

General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) is a state-funded program that provides health care coverage to extremely low-income single adults. GAMC is at great risk of being significantly cut as the governor and legislators act to balance Minnesota’s $4.6 billion deficit.

Melody Swanson, a Catholic Charities caseworker at the Mary Hall housing program, writes:

"Several residents at Mary Hall struggle with medical and mental health problems. Recently one of our residents was suicidal and was deemed to need hospitalization to stabilize so that he would not hurt himself. He had GAMC and was hospitalized for about a week. He was much better upon discharge and no longer felt like hurting himself.

“What would have happened to this man if he were not eligible for hospital coverage? He would have likely racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills, which would be nearly impossible for him to ever pay back. This does not make sense, as the state will end up taking the loss anyway.

“What is to become of the thousands of people on GAMC who have medical and/or mental health issues and need hospitalization?"

It is our hope that our elected officials take great care in considering the question that Melody just posed. The need for dignified living and quality health care will not be resolved when the final budget is signed into law. The need will remain, and the coming weeks will determine if Minnesotans determine those needs worthy of a response.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Office for Social Justice

Slipping through the state's safety net

2009-03-31T13:41:00.003-05:00

Read this March 31 story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune to learn how the struggling economy has caused many people to slip through the state's safety net.

Coming to understand the broken system

2009-03-30T11:05:00.011-05:00

Recently, I was listening to a commentary on the joblessness situation in Elkhart, Indiana. A worker who was recently laid off confessed that he finally understood how those living in poverty must feel when they bump up against one wall after another.

This worker just wanted to get a job. And there are no jobs. He indicated that he had worked his whole life, saved some for retirement and then saw it all disappear through no fault of his own. He understood, along with a lot of his fellow workers, that sometimes you can do all the right things, and still the “system” goes against you.

Of course, this is a realization that folks living in poverty have understood for some time. The system can just work against you.

It happens to the young mom who finally gets a job and begins to cover her basic needs and finds out that she makes too much to be eligible for subsidized child care. Without the subsidy, child care takes up most of her income each month.

It happens to the paraplegic victim of gang violence who can work, but is prohibited from being as gainfully employed as she could be because she would make too much money to qualify for health coverage.

It happens to the Samuels family from Roseville, who have suffered two lay offs and who are told they have to look for a job before they can qualify for cash assistance on Minnesota’s welfare program. In the meantime they have no income, and their bills are piling up.

If there is a silver lining to this economic downturn, perhaps it will be that people will come to know that this "system," originally put in place to help people, is in fact, broken.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Thinking of Our Neighbors in Need

2009-03-26T14:29:00.002-05:00

We would be remiss if we didn’t pause and think of our neighbors to the north as they battle a river seemingly bent on destruction. The Flood of 2009 rivals that of any we’ve seen in recent years. Experts predict it will surpass the flood of 1997, when the swollen Red River swallowed towns and destroyed cities.

The devastation — that which has already occurred and that which more and more appears likely — will cause problems for years. The photos of residents and volunteers building sandbag dikes in the midst of a blizzard are mindboggling.

I urge all of us to get involved in whatever way we can. Volunteer. Contribute. Pray. The success of our communities rests on the commitment and investment we make in our brothers and sisters in need.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

What a second chance might look like

2009-03-25T15:44:00.002-05:00

A bill making its way through the Minnesota legislature would remove questions about criminal history (the “have you ever been convicted of a felony” box) from most public employment applications.

Employers would still have the right to ask about an applicant’s criminal history, but only after the applicant had been offered a job interview. This legislation, which is called the “Ban the Box” bill (Senate File 538 and House File 1043), would give ex-offenders an opportunity to be screened equally by the application process, instead of having their applications set aside by something that happened in their past.

For people who exit incarceration, finding good, stable employment is essential. Today, we can look at a success story to see why this legislation is important to ex-offenders as they work for a second chance in society.

Carl was recently released from incarceration and was able to find a good-paying job as a union ironworker. Right now, he’s working at the new Gopher football stadium in Minneapolis, welding the bleachers into place. His employer gave him a chance to prove himself, and it’s working out well. He’s proud of his job, and loves working hard to build a new building.

Because Carl is paid well, he can afford to pay rent and other expenses at his apartment. Because he has health insurance, he can regularly attend appointments with his doctor and group therapy sessions, and he can afford medication that helps him maintain his mental health. He’s working on reconnecting with his family and mentoring other ex-offenders as they transition out of incarceration.

Carl’s success story was largely fueled by his ability to find employment. He’s unlikely to offend again because he’s working hard for his second chance. The Ban the Box bill will give other ex-offenders a better opportunity to work for their second chances, too.

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Cuts will hurt those who can least afford it

2009-03-24T13:45:00.005-05:00

A note from a physician hangs on the wall in the office at one of Catholic Charities’ shelters. The note, essentially a prescription, requests staff to give a man two mats for sleeping to help him cope with pain.

It shouldn’t surprise me that the man’s physician requested it. It should surprise me that more of our clients don’t face the same issue. Studies show that people who are homeless age faster than people who are not. For every year without a home, people’s bodies age five to seven years.

The number of older and elderly people who are homeless continues to increase. Society’s safety net failed them, and they sleep on a three-inch-thick mat on the floor of one of our shelters or that of another agency in town. Imagine your mother or father, grandparent or older neighbor spending the night on a three-inch-thick mat.

We must do better.

Proposed funding cuts to health and human services in the state budget will further harm people whose physical health can least afford it. We need you to join the conversation, to speak to lawmakers and us about what matters to you, about what kind of society we want to be.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Is any job a good job?

2009-03-23T15:19:00.005-05:00

Does it make sense that in this economy, we continue to limit those receiving cash assistance to 60 months as they make their way from welfare to work? Furthermore, does it make sense that we initially divert people from receiving assistance while they do a job search when there are very few jobs being created?

It is time we legislate a moratorium on these two requirements until the economy is again creating jobs. Perhaps now is the time we should support education and training instead of the notion that “any job is a good job.”

Here are the facts:

The latest Job Vacancy Survey from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows that in the Twin Cities Metro Region, there are 92,000 unemployed workers competing for 18,100 unfilled jobs.
Job seekers outnumber job openings by a 5-to-1 ratio.
Six months ago, the ratio of job seekers to job openings in the region was less than 3-to-1. Since then, job seekers have risen 22 percent; job openings have fallen 41 percent.
Forty percent of all openings are part-time.
One out of four openings pays less than $9.00 an hour.

Research done by the JOBS NOW Coalition indicates that the median wage for metro area job openings is $11.56 an hour. But JOBS NOW’s updated Cost of Living research shows that in a metro-area family of four with both parents working, each worker must earn $14.34 per hour to meet basic needs.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Happy 140th, St. Joe's

2009-03-19T13:15:00.005-05:00

The following are comments made by Catholic Charities CEO Fr. John Estrem at the St. Joseph's Home for Children 140th anniversary celebration:

Good morning.

In 1869, people who had left family and friends and all things familiar thousands of miles away looked at their community and knew they must care for those who could not care for themselves.

And so those recent German immigrants opened an orphanage at Assumption Church in St. Paul. Ultimately that orphanage moved to Minneapolis. And we are here today to celebrate the 140th anniversary of St. Joseph’s Home for Children.

We at Catholic Charities chose today, the Feast of St. Joseph, to commemorate 140 years of caring for the least among us. We mark mixed emotions of gratitude and sadness. Gratitude for your support and for the blessings of God’s grace for 140 years. Sadness for obvious reasons.

The staff at St. Joe’s and the staff who work with children throughout our agency are extraordinarily dedicated. Many of them do jobs that, frankly, I could not do.

They provide children with the tools and skills they need to build the best possible life. In Catholic Social Teaching, we talk of our moral obligation to help people reach their full human potential.

What happens every day in the classrooms and living rooms and playgrounds at St. Joe’s is nothing less than that.

We rely on our partnerships with the police and donors and court officials and former staff and volunteers and social service workers and government officials and corporations to make this work. We rely on your dedication to improving the lives of the hundreds of children who come to St. Joe’s.

And we need the help of the children themselves. You, the children, are the essential piece to St. Joe’s. You are why we are here today. Yes, we’re here to celebrate 140 years of St. Joe’s.

But more importantly than that is that we are here to tell you that we want you to succeed. All these adults in this gymnasium today want you to build the best possible lives you can. And we are here to tell you we will do our best to make that happen.

One hundred and forty years ago, people who had just moved to America from Germany gave their love and support to all the children in their community. Today we do the same.

Thank you to our staff, to our volunteers, to our former staff, our former clients, to our donors, our corporate partners, the law enforcement officials, court and government officials and to the children here today. Because of you, St. Joe’s provides hope and courage and love.

Thank you.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Budget should reflect our values and priorities

2009-03-18T09:31:00.011-05:00

The budget is a moral document. There has been a lot of reference to that term in the past couple of months as it relates to our current state budget deficit.

What does that mean? In many ways, the budget reflects the intersection of community values and community priorities. The state budget, and the federal budget for that matter, reflects the decisions citizens make about who counts and who benefits in our society. Conversely, it can reflect who is dismissed.

In scarce times, it is extremely important to carefully examine whose values govern the decision making and how democratic the process is in assessing those values and priorities.

For example, when one looks at the cost of the Iraq war, we know that the expenditure of those dollars was a choice that we made. We could have made different choices. To date, the war has cost about $656.1 billion; the Minneapolis taxpayers’ share of that is $987.8 million.

We could have used those dollars to provide the following:

Health care for 284,000 people for one year
Funding for 143,305 Head Start places for one year
6,308 affordable housing units
One year of health care for 322,585 children

This is not to say we don’t need to make choices to protect our national security, but we should know that when we make one choice, we often forgo another.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Society cannot succeed unless basic needs of all are met

2009-03-17T14:41:00.006-05:00

Too many people in society continue to believe that some people must lose for society to win, that success must be a game of musical chairs.

That concept is just wrong.

As a society, we cannot succeed unless all people have their basic needs met.

The latest round of budget proposals from both sides of the aisle talk about smaller cuts to Health and Human Services. The governor’s revised budget will likely reflect the caveats — that eligibility requirements for state-funded health care programs remain the same as they were on July 1 — associated with federal stimulus dollars, a change that will spare some of the health care programs threatened by the initial budget.

But the proposals miss the point. The budgets may solve the problem in the short run, but any cuts and no growth in areas that help people meet their basic needs of food, shelter and health care further harm people who can least afford it.

We continue to avoid having the hard conversations about how to help people meet their basic needs. We manage to talk about everything and anything except how to make long-term investments in all people.

The need for this conversation has never been more urgent. The need for the conversation is now. And we need you to join it.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

The time to act is now

2009-03-16T15:04:00.001-05:00

For months, we have been making the case for a budget that reflects our values, a budget that lifts up the common good, and protects the dignity of all. Critical decisions will be made by the House of Representatives this week as they prepare to release their strategy for balancing the budget.

Last week, the Minnesota Senate leadership released a budget plan that addresses the deficit in a balanced manner. To solve our massive deficit, the senate proposed raising $2 billion in revenue and $2.4 billion in cuts (7 percent cut to every area in the state budget). By both raising revenue and distributing the cuts across the board, we stop the majority of the budget solution coming from services for low-income children and families, the disabled and the elderly — as has been the case in previous years. In a year where no budget option is a good option, we do believe the Senate’s approach to solving the budget is balanced.

Hard times demand a stronger — not a weaker — safety net. Because of this, it would be unwise for health and human services to bear a disproportionate share of the cuts. To meet the challenge of our weakening economy and the state’s budget deficit, every one of us is going to have to give something. However, no one should be asked to give up everything – that includes a place to live, enough to eat, adequate health care and human dignity.

Our voices must be heard in the coming days, as Health & Human Service dollars are poised to take on disproportionate cuts. Please make two contacts today — one to Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher and one to your own representative.

Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher
(651) 296-0171 or
rep.margaret.kelliher@house.mn

To find your representative:
(651) 296-2146 or www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts

Please call before noon this Thursday —
then let us know that you took action!

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Office for Social Justice

Clergy Day on the Hill encourages faith leaders to advocate for justice

2009-03-11T14:28:00.013-05:00

Despite the driving snow and blustery wind, more than 200 faith leaders from across Minnesota gathered Tuesday, March 10 at the State Capitol rotunda to raise their voices for economic justice and call for the protection of the poor and marginalized in our communities.

In opening statements by Mark Peterson, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Service and Fr. John Estrem, CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis (see the text of Father Estrem’s remarks below), local community faith leaders learned that even with the federal stimulus package, many state programs that support the poor and vulnerable are in jeopardy because of the $4.6 billion budget shortfall for fiscal years 2010-2011.

Faith leaders were asked to visit their legislators with a message that encouraged them to think of the state’s budget as a moral document that defines the priorities of the community. Furthermore, faith leaders worried that the current proposed budget solutions will hurt our neighbors who already struggle to meet their basic needs, and that those solutions will push them into greater crises.

Fr. Stephen Adrian, from St. Matthew Church in St. Paul, urged those present to be bold and take action, saying, "When we die, God will say, 'Show me your wounds.' Pity the person who says, 'I have no wounds,' because God will ask, 'Was there nothing in your world worth fighting for?'"

Adam Robinson
Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Demand for services still on the rise

2009-03-11T10:12:00.010-05:00

Demand for Catholic Charities' services, as well as for the services of other Twin Cities social service agencies, is at an unprecedented level. This March 11 piece from tcdailyplanet.com illustrates that.

The best investment the state can make is in its people

2009-03-10T12:08:00.008-05:00

The following are the comments of Catholic Charities CEO Fr. John Estrem, made at the State Capitol Tuesday, March 10, for Clergy Day on the Hill.

Today our Jewish sisters and brothers continue their observance of Purim, a holiday that commemorates liberation, about a people rising up for justice. In the Christian world, we near the middle of our observance of Lent, a time when we are repeatedly reminded of our obligation to work for justice.

And that fundamentally is why we are here. We are here to speak for justice. We are here to give voice to the common good.

The question we face today isn’t how to balance the budget. That isn’t the message we are here to deliver to our lawmakers.

We are here today to ask: what kind of society do we want to be?

This budget ultimately reflects how we treat our sisters and brothers in need and speaks to the core of who we are as a community. I am frequently asked about who we are serving at our 42 programs and about the impact of the economic crisis on demand for our services.

Many of our clients are families … people who had a middle-class lifestyle, had done everything society asked and still find themselves without a home, without a job and increasingly without hope.

We cannot throw these people aside.

The reality is the that impact of budget cuts will go far beyond those we serve at Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Service and the dozens of other social service agencies in town. They will impact the people who fill your houses of worship.

You know the faces of the increasing numbers of those in need. They sit in your churches and synagogues and congregations. They quietly ask for help. They call your offices desperate and embarrassed that they who once supported charity now must rely on it for survival.

As hard as this is, we must look beyond the moment of this biennium. We must invest in all people. Regardless of the economic conditions of the state, the best investment the state can make is in its people.

The economy will recover and we will need these men and women to return to the work force and again contribute to Minnesota’s wealth. Long-term recovery and prosperity won’t be in spite of the people today’s budget proposals threaten to cast aside. It will be because of them.

Investing in people means meeting their basic needs of food, shelter and health care. Failing to invest in people means that, in the long run, it will cost the state more money to care for those who could not get help when they most needed it.

I believe at core every person in this building — every person including the lawmakers — wants to do the right thing. The right thing to do is to do justice.

As people of faith, of all faiths, we believe in the notion of justice, that we as a society cannot succeed unless we care for the least among us.

And the list of those who are the least among us, the list of people who need the help of social service agencies and churches and synagogues continues to grow. We must be their voice to those who hold seats of power. Thank you.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Our state's budget is a moral document

2009-03-09T14:59:00.008-05:00

Even with the federal stimulus package, Minnesota faces a $4.6 billion dollar shortfall for fiscal years 2010-2011. Many state-funded programs may be in jeopardy as legislators and Governor Pawlenty design the next budget.

How will the vulnerable and those living in poverty fare as decisions about the budget are being made? Many people in our state stand to lose important supports at a time when the economy continues to decline. Catholic Charities and other social service agencies have seen a significant increase in the demand for services.

Before our current economic crisis is over, Minnesota is expected to lose 120,000 jobs. Fifty thousand of them are already gone. Given this reality, it should concern us that potential budget solutions will hurt our neighbors who already struggle to meet their basic needs and will push them into greater crises. While economic difficulties affect each of us, they hit the most vulnerable the hardest.

As a moral document, the state budget decides the priorities of the community. The budget should reflect our long-held Minnesota tradition of caring for those in need, especially when that need is increasing.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Recovery package helps with health care, but won't cure all budget ills

2009-03-04T15:06:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, an updated state economic forecast for 2010-11 was released. This number takes into account the likely revenue and cost of running our government for the next two years. The forecast was not good, as the predicted deficit for the next biennium has skyrocketed from $4.8 billion to $6.4 billion, which is 17 percent of our state budget.

However, there is a silver lining. The recovery package passed by President Obama and the U.S. Congress will end up sending more than $4 billion to Minnesota, $1.8 billion of which must be used on health care coverage (primarily Medical Assistance) for low-income Minnesotans.

Because of this, the size of our deficit has been reduced from $6.4 billion to $4.6 billion. Whew ... got all that?

There is both good and bad news that come with the strings attached to the federal health care dollars. Thankfully, there are provisions in the recovery package that keep states from cutting health care eligibility from previous year levels if they want to receive the federal dollars.

The feds added this to ensure that health care access would expand with these dollars, rather than simply filling in state budget deficits.

The scary part of this is that it further shrinks the budget pie that the governor and legislature have to balance the budget with, putting other Health and Human Service programs at even greater risk.

It's time to get real about our reality and our options. Unless we keep all options on the table as we search for solutions to this budget crisis, we will see disastrous cuts to General Assistance Medical Care, General Assistance, child care subsidies, welfare-to-work programs and other key safety net programs.

Our elected officials have a mighty task before them, and there are few good options. The coming months will not only be decided by numbers on a spreadsheet, but by who shows up to help make the decisions.

Will your voice and values be part of the public discussion? Will your passion for the health and human dignity of those living in poverty be felt by our decision makers?

The challenges are great, but if we engage in a real and authentic way, we can regain our prosperity and a place at the table for all Minnesotans.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager

Minnesotans miss 125 million meals annually

2009-03-03T11:58:00.015-06:00

Jorge, Maria and their two young children started coming to Catholic Charities’ Branch II food shelf in June 2008 when Jorge lost his job at a soldering company.

The food they receive has helped their family through its hard time while Jorge continues to search for work in this struggling job market.

The increase in the number of families like Jorge’s led Catholic Charities to change its one-visit-per-month policy to allow people to visit the food shelf twice a month.

Although Jorge and Maria have found help for their family, a disturbing number of other families in similar situations have not.

A study released March 2 by Second Harvest Heartland, a Maplewood-based food bank, found that low-income Minnesotans miss 125 million meals every year — the equivalent of no dinner for two weeks every month for those in need.

It also found that only a small percentage of food stamp-eligible Minnesota residents actually use the program to help stretch their food budget.

125 million meals? That’s an incredible number, and it’s unacceptable. Part of our mission at Catholic Charities is to end hunger. We can do it, and we will do it, but not alone. It’s going to take a collective effort from the whole community.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Ex-offenders deserve more help when getting back on their feet

2009-03-02T15:10:00.008-06:00

Not long ago, an ex-offender was released from incarceration in Ramsey County. Having nowhere else to go — no family he could move in with or prearranged housing — he was dropped off at the Dorothy Day Center in downtown St. Paul.

At the time of his release, the ex-offender was having serious health issues, and he was literally rolled out of the jail in a wheelchair. When he arrived at Dorothy Day, he was left at the front door, and the corrections officer took the wheelchair back to the jail with him, leaving the new Dorothy Day client immobile.

This is an unacceptable situation, and it illustrates the ways in which our communities make it nearly impossible for people released from prison to successfully re-integrate into society. A more just society would treat ex-offenders with greater dignity by at least beginning to find housing, health care, mental health care and some means of support upon their release from incarceration.

Fortunately, members of the Minnesota Legislature are working to create policies that would begin to assist ex-offenders with their re-integration into the community:

SF538/HF1043 will prevent public employers from inquiring into or consideration of a criminal record until the employer has offered the prospective employee a conditional offer of employment.

SF562/HF882 will provide protections for private employers from civil liability in the hiring of an employee with a criminal record.

SF380/HF469 expands funding for mental health access; provides grants for the education of police and others first responders who interact with persons with mental health issues; provides grants to county jails for re-entry discharge planning for those with persistent mental illness.

SF564/HF881 works to restore voting rights for ex-felons.

These pieces of legislation are good first steps to helping ex-offenders re-enter society with access to employment, health care and voting rights.

Adam Robinson
Public Policy Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Health care coverage must extend past 18

2009-02-26T12:59:00.005-06:00

On his recent birthday, a young man at St. Joseph’s Home for Children picked up his bag and his cake and walked to the other side of the building where we run a homeless shelter for young people.

The man was celebrating his 18th birthday, and he was now too old to receive help at St. Joe’s. Though he would’ve had a doctor’s office visit covered the day before, he no longer had health insurance. Because he had been removed from his home and placed in the foster system, the young man had no place to go except a shelter for homeless and runaway youth.

Each year in Minnesota, another 599 young people find themselves in the exact same position.

A bill before the state legislature would fix that loophole, guaranteeing youth in the foster care system Medicaid coverage until they turn 21 and providing them with supportive services, such as education counseling and job placement.

It only makes sense. Studies show that 95 percent of Americans are at least 25 years old before they can be self-sufficient. Another estimate found that parents provide their young adult children with about $38,000 in assistance after they turn 18. Parents also help their children age 18 to 24 about 367 hours a year.

Eighteen year old "adults" who were foster children are no different than 18 year old "adults" who grew up with their parents. They’re too young to figure it out on their own. And we, as a society, must help them meet their basic needs.

Click here to learn more about the bills that would help children in foster care receive the support they need.

And let us know what you think. The democratic process needs discussion and input. Yours.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

National health care reform needed

2009-02-25T15:10:00.008-06:00

Last week, Kathy Tomlin, director of the Office for Social Justice, wrote about cuts to state health care programs and the need for major reforms at the national level. This week, at the annual Catholic Social Ministries Gathering in Washington, D.C., national health care reform was a central part of our message to our senators and representatives.

Health care reform is a priority for our nation, the new Congress and the Administration. For many of us, it is about human dignity and respect for life. This overdue national discussion about health care must begin now. Here are some facts:

• 46 million people in the wealthiest and most technologically advanced country in the world lack health care coverage.
• One out of every $6 spent in the United States is spent on health care.
• The United States ranks near the bottom of life expectancy at age 60.
• The United States ranks near the bottom in deaths that would not have occurred if treated with timely and effective care.
• People who are uninsured are twice as likely not to receive follow-up care to an injury or new chronic condition.

It will be challenging to enact reform at the national level, but if we want to protect people living in poverty and crisis, we need to make the necessary changes to fix these problems. Reforms should take into account controlling costs, expanding access and maintaining quality. Health care should be accessible to every person and reflect our value for human life and the dignity of each person.

Adam Robinson
Public Policy Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Ending homelessness requires political will

2009-02-24T14:47:00.014-06:00

When we extended the hours of the Dorothy Day Center to provide overnight shelter, we figured at most we’d have 140 people sleeping there.

So we worried one night in January 2007 because 197 people slept at the Dorothy Day Center. We thought it was a one-time occurrence, that perhaps a neighboring shelter or organization couldn’t serve people that night. We thought it was an anomaly, that surely we wouldn’t see that many people again.

We were wrong.

Last night 202 men and women slept on the floor of the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. Almost every night since November, at least 200 people sleep on the floor of the Dorothy Day Center.

The mats lie six inches apart side to side with no more than 12 inches between one person’s feet and another person’s head.

They’re the lucky ones.

Every night, about 9,000 people are homeless in Minnesota. The vast majority of them are in the Twin Cities.

Click here to learn about those who weren’t so lucky.

We can eliminate poverty and homelessness in Minnesota. We just have to have the political will to do it.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Stimulus dollars helpful, but long-term care for all still a priority

2009-02-23T09:30:00.015-06:00

You can hear the cheering in the streets about the health care dollars heading to Minnesota as a result of the federal stimulus package. Estimates are that more than $2 billion in federal Medicaid dollars will expand coverage to the newly unemployed and help fill the health care funding gap in the state.

These dollars, however, will only be available to Minnesota if the eligibility rules that were in place on July 1, 2008 remain in place. This means the Governor’s proposal to restrict eligibility in this next budget year cannot go forward if we want to receive these new funds.

In other words, we can’t afford to cut more than 100,000 people off health care.

But that’s not the end of our state’s budget problems. This $2 billion influx is a one-time event. We still have health care costs ballooning out of control and we will continue to have structural budget shortfalls.

This current economic downturn coupled with a growing health care crisis should compel us to take seriously the need to reform health care in this country. In the last few years, Minnesota has had at least three commissions issuing three studies with three sets of recommendations — but no major reform.

Minnesota should keep plugging away, but ultimately we should be advocating for reform at the national level. We need a national plan that guarantees health care access to everyone.

Kathy Tomlin
Director
Office for Social Justice

Faith in the City

2009-02-19T15:05:00.010-06:00

On Tuesday, several Catholic Charities staff and I participated in a conversation about ending poverty in the Twin Cities. The event, sponsored by Faith in the City, brought together business, community and faith leaders to discuss anti-poverty initiatives.

Faith in the City is a partnership of five major Lutheran institutions in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area committed to improving the quality of life of the communities in which they serve.

As the largest provider of social services in the Twin Cities, we were asked to attend the event and support their efforts, which we gladly did.

For more information about Faith in the City or to view the slides from the event, visit www.faithinthecity.org/poverty.html.

Poverty knows no religious or geographical bounds. Ending poverty requires the efforts of each of us, regardless of our faith affiliation, to uphold the inherent dignity of each person and commit ourselves to ending injustice, which feeds poverty.

People of good will can respectfully disagree on theological differences while simultaneously committing themselves to eradicating the scourge of poverty.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Joining forces to represent those most in need

2009-02-18T16:45:00.005-06:00

With the ink from President Obama’s pen barely dried from signing a $787 billion economic stimulus package into law, low-income communities in Minnesota are preparing to compete for a fair share of those dollars.

At Catholic Charities, we are keenly aware that unequal access to social and economic opportunity for women, people of color and low-income communities are at the core of systemic poverty and racism. To truly stimulate our economy and lessen the need for social services, we must have fair representation in the emerging sectors of our economy for all Minnesotans.

The Office for Social Justice has joined with workforce development centers, environmental groups, religious entities and other community organizations to form a powerful coalition.

The coalition is organizing across boundaries to win fair representation for those too often left on the outside of our economy. The H.I.R.E. Minnesota coalition is co-chaired by Louis King of the Summit Academy OIC and Will Steger of the Will Steger Foundation.

We are working to reduce poverty and pollution by being on the front end of the green collar economy. H.I.R.E. Minnesota has held town hall forums at the Minneapolis Urban League, the Lao Family Center and the American Indian Center.

The forums have drawn more than 1,000 diverse community members together to collectively move toward our shared goal. We continue working in the community and at the capitol to organize and pass legislation that will go beyond good intentions and set out clear procedures, benchmarks and accountability in the use of federal stimulus dollars.

For a short video clip about the town hall forums, aired last night on KSTP, please visit the Will Steger Foundation’s Web site.

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager
Catholic Charities' Office for Social Justice

Fighting Poverty: We know what works. Please ask us

2009-02-17T10:15:00.013-06:00

The following piece - written by Fr. John Estrem, CEO of Catholic Charities and Mark Peterson, CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota - appeared in the Opinion section of the St. Paul Pioneer Press Sunday, Feb. 15.

Attention the last few months on increased demand at food shelves and emergency shelters in the Twin Cities sheds welcome light on our neighbors' plight.

But it misses the point.

We can no longer afford to talk only about crisis intervention, emergency shelters and food shelves. We must focus on the long-term picture. We as a society fail to realize an investment of a relatively small amount of money often prevents people from sliding into poverty, provides necessary medical care, child care and housing — and ultimately saves taxpayers money.

The state and national systems that provide health care, mental health care, housing and emergency social services need reform. Proof can be found in the sheer volume of people seeking help from our agencies.

In January, nearly 6,000 people slept on the floor of the Dorothy Day Center, one of Catholic Charities' shelters in St. Paul. That's 300 more than in December. In the same month, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota helped 2,000 people struggling with credit card debt or the threat of mortgage foreclosure. An additional 1,000 people were put on waiting lists.

We anticipate the number of people seeking emergency shelter and mortgage foreclosure assistance will grow for the foreseeable future. But those increases didn't appear in just the last six months. And they won't automatically reverse when the unemployment rate hits 3 percent and the temperature reaches 80 degrees.

Poverty grew for the last 10 years, during the greatest economic expansion in history. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2 million more children lived in poverty in 2007 than in 2000.

Our staff on the front lines spends the majority of its time managing people and little time managing real needs that allow people to find and walk their paths out of poverty. Though society will always need emergency shelters and food shelves, we cannot rely on them to eliminate poverty and homelessness and restore economic prosperity.

The conversations at the Capitol shouldn't focus on whether to cut medical coverage or veterans benefits or higher education. The conversation must focus on investing in all people and working toward long-term solutions.

Investing in people means meeting their basic needs of food, shelter and health care and not just for the next 30 or 60 or 90 days. A new biennium won't bring an end to this problem. We can no longer afford to balance the budget today by neglecting the responsibilities of two, four or six years from now. We must talk about long-term, comprehensive health, mental health, supportive housing and social services reform.

In the scope of the state's $33 billion budget, the cost of investing in people through food, shelter and necessary services remains small. Study after study shows the costs are far less to get people on their feet than paying for long-term costs of health care in emergency rooms or providing services through the criminal justice system. Few areas of social policy in which government, business and the nonprofit community work together are more cost-effective. Organizations such as Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Service frequently join government agencies to stretch public and private resources. Government can't do it alone. But neither can we.

We aren't policy experts. But our organizations combined have spent nearly 300 years helping people meet their basic needs of food, shelter and health care. We know what works.

Even if the 2009 budget preserves programs that serve our most vulnerable neighbors, the systemic lack of investing in people will haunt us until we address not only the root causes of poverty and homelessness but rebuild structures that provide health care, mental health care, housing and social services.

We can no longer patch the Titanic after we've hit an iceberg. No longer can we simply move people into lifeboats. It only prolongs the drowning.

We know state lawmakers face tough decisions. We know services face funding cuts. While we ask that the cuts be equally distributed, we more urgently request that any discussion include long-term strategic thinking. Policy remains the responsibility of lawmakers, but they must hear the voices of the poor. We will gladly meet with lawmakers to talk about creative solutions. We eagerly await their invitations.

The Rev. John Estrem is CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the largest provider of social services in the Twin Cities. He can be reached at ceo@ccspm.org. Mark Peterson is CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, the largest provider of social services in Minnesota. He can be reached at mark.peterson@lssmn.org.

Affordable health care a necessity

2009-02-11T14:20:00.012-06:00

The following is testimony from Fr. John Estrem, CEO of Catholic Charities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, given at the State Capitol Feb. 11. You can view video of this testimony at Catholic Charities' YouTube channel.

Madam Chair and members of the committee, my name is Fr. John Estrem. I’m the CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Catholic Charities is the largest provider of social services in the Twin Cities. Each year, Catholic Charities serves 40,000 people, regardless of faith. Many believe that in times of community and societal crisis, faith and charitable organizations will step up and meet the need.

We do all we can. But our reality is this:

In January, we provided 6,623 nights of sleep at the Dorothy Day Center, one of our shelters in St. Paul. That’s hundreds more than in December, and we anticipate that trend to continue long after the economy recovers.

The mats our clients sleep on are placed so close together you cannot walk between them. Obtaining a bed or a three-inch mat to sleep is only one barrier the poor face.

We know those who live in poverty and who are homeless have increased health risks and problems.

An article by a University of Minnesota researcher published in the latest Minnesota Medicine reported that “homeless patients stayed 4.1 days or 36 percent longer per hospital admission on average than other patients even after adjustments were made for clinical and demographic characteristics.”

That’s a lot of taxpayer and hospital-charitable dollars that likely could have been saved with earlier interventions. We know a relatively small investment of money and time can keep someone out of poverty and pays dividends to the state in the long run.

Mabel was a nursing student and lacked health insurance when she learned she was pregnant. The staff at our prenatal program connected Mabel with state-funded insurance for her and her daughter.

That relatively small investment of state dollars for Mabel’s health care allowed her to stay in school instead of quitting to get a job to pay for health care for her and her daughter. She will graduate from college, get a job and pay taxes. We cannot imagine taking away health care coverage for the people who come through our doors.

We cannot fathom the disaster if coverage for mental health care ends. But Madam Chair, the conversation we must have isn’t about cutting health care or early childhood education or affordable housing or higher education.

The problems we face won’t be solved this biennium simply by keeping intact funding. We must look at the long-term picture and have tough conversations about long-term, comprehensive health care and social services reform.

We know lawmakers face tough decisions. We know there will be cuts.

We are willing to meet with both sides of the aisle to have tough conversations and create long-term solutions. We’re simply waiting for the invitation.

I’m not here to recommend specific policies. Policy is the responsibility of lawmakers, but you must hear the voices of those who cry out the least and suffer the most. The hundreds who sleep on the floor of the Dorothy Day Center, who stand in line for food and wonder whether they can afford health care are us. We must answer the question: What kind of state do we want Minnesota to be.

Thank you.

Minnesota must invest in its people

2009-02-10T12:01:00.014-06:00

The following is testimony from Fr. John Estrem, CEO of Catholic Charities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, given at the State Capitol Feb. 5:

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, my name is Fr. John Estrem. I’m the CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Each year, Catholic Charities serves 40,000 people, regardless of faith. That is just a statistic, though. The stories are the people … and their stories are getting more desperate.

In January, nearly 6,000 people slept on the floor of Dorothy Day Center. That’s 300 more than in December. We expect that on a per-night basis, the population will grow again in February … and March … and so on until the economy turns around.

It’s true that our clients are the first ones to suffer in a recession and the last ones to benefit from the recovery. That always has been the case. But what is different this time is that so many of our clients are families … people who were holding on to a middle-class lifestyle … people who have done everything society has asked of them … and still find themselves without a home, without a job, and increasingly, without hope.

We cannot throw these people aside.

Regardless of the economic conditions of the state, the best investment the state can make is in its people. The economy will recover and we will need these men and women to return to the work force and again contribute to Minnesota’s wealth.

Long-term recovery and prosperity won’t be in spite of the people today’s budget proposals threaten to cast aside; it will be because of them. Investing in people means meeting their basic needs of food, shelter and health care. Failing to invest in people means that, in the long run, it will cost the state more money to care for those who could not get health care because they could not afford it.

Because the population we serve is often very transitory and suffering from mental illness, it’s difficult to obtain precise information. We know the vast majority of the people we serve receive some type of government-funded health insurance, including GAMC. This is a last-resort health insurance option for clients. If they didn’t have this, they’d have to rely on much more expensive emergency services.

The conversation we must have, frankly, isn’t about whether to cut GAMC or leave it intact. The conversation must be that this isn’t a two-year problem. This problem isn’t going to go away in two years. We can’t simply continue to patch the Titanic after we’ve hit an iceberg. We can’t continue to put people into lifeboats. It’s just prolonging the drowning. We have to have the conversation about long-term, comprehensive health reform. We know tough decisions have to be made.

We know there will be cuts. We are willing to meet with both sides of the aisle, have the tough conversations and think creatively to develop solutions. We’re simply waiting for the invitation. Thank you.

Fr. John will testify again to the Health and Human Services Budget Division Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Is dental care expendable?

2009-02-09T15:47:00.018-06:00

An article in Monday's Pioneer Press notes that through Governor Pawlenty’s proposed budget cuts, nearly 400,000 Minnesota adults are slated to lose dental coverage. This would mean that 10 percent of all Minnesota adults would be without affordable access to dental health care.

Foregoing dental care can be dangerous and costly. Without dental coverage, low-income people are less likely to receive preventative care and more likely to use the emergency room for their dental health care needs.

Over the course of the 2010-2011 biennium, the cuts would save slightly less than $50 million, out of a nearly $5 billion budget shortfall.

Dr. Craig Amundson, a dentist at Midway Dental Clinic says he is “frustrated that people see dental care as expendable.”

These cuts would have serious repercussions for Catholic Charities’ clients.

Catholic Charities provides 1.2 million meals per year, and we are proud that we are able to serve healthy, nutritious meals for people who need them. When clients don’t have access to proper dental health care and hygiene, their food choices become limited by the foods they can chew.

Protecting dental health care for low-income people is essential for promoting the greater health of our community.

Adam Robinson
Public Policy Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Testifying on the Hill

2009-02-06T11:32:00.030-06:00

The following is testimony from Gerry Lauer, program manager at the Dorothy Day Center, given at the State Capitol Feb. 5:

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, my name is Gerry Lauer. I’m the program manager for the Dorothy Day Center, one of Catholic Charities' day and overnight shelters in St. Paul.

This January, we provided 6,623 nights of sleep, an average of 213 per night, on the floor and in the Women's Shelter upstairs at Dorothy Day. These numbers are staggering. The mats our clients sleep on are placed so close together that there is not enough space to walk between them.

When we started the overnight or extended hours program at the Dorothy Day Center several years ago, it was understood that we would provide a place to sleep for about about 100-125 people. We had many discussions about what to do if that number came close to 150. Those days are long gone.

My job has become more about managing people and less about meeting needs that allow for moving people out of poverty. We still manage to move some people, but it takes longer and is much more difficult for many reasons. Due to an increased demand for our services, we have less time with each person we attempt to serve. And what we know works is having a relationship with the client where you can establish trust, not just treat those we serve as just another number.

At Dorothy Day, we're encountering problems that we don’t seem to have an answer for.

We have people coming out of the hospital within days of having major surgery. They have no place to go except the Dorothy Day Extended Hours program.

We have extremely mentally ill people who are not taking their medication and are very vulnerable and unstable in a crowd. We are currently dealing with active TB cases. County and state health departments have been trying to track down all the exposed persons since late 2007. Due to the incredible number of folks who come through our program and the overcrowding of our facilities, these major health concerns are becoming a more common event at our sites.

If I step back and look at what cutting folks off from General Assistance Medical Care will do, I see a disaster.

The ever-increasing number of people we serve will be even more susceptible to illness and injury that preventative medicine can resolve. Those coming out of the hospital with no place to stay will be coming to us in an even worse situation.

The number of mentally ill clients we serve will increase. It will no longer only be the people who choose to not take their medication. but people who cannot afford to buy it. Our intoxicated clients will increase in number as well, because treatment will no longer be available to those who choose to seek it.

But the overriding concern I have is that places like the Dorothy Day Center will no longer be able to handle the ever-growing numbers and health concerns that come with a population that doesn’t have access to adequate health care.

I have only shared a glimpse of the world in which I work. The numbers that pass through the doors of the Dorothy Day Center are staggering. We are our brothers' keepers and we need more resources to keep people fed, warm, safe and secure in these times.

Some suggested reading

2009-02-05T11:41:00.015-06:00

Poverty is and should be a major concern in our society today. Here are some recent pieces that illustrate the problem of poverty, and what can be done to eliminate it.

Catholic Charities' message to the legislature this session has been consistent: Do not balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Nick Coleman agrees in this Feb. 4 column.

Minnesota can end poverty by the year 2020. This Jan. 28 article from "The Catholic Spirit" tells us how.

Minorities in Minnesota live in poverty at a higher rate than the national average. Catholic Charities sees this disparity in its clients every day. Learn more about this racial divide in Minnesota in this Feb. 1 "Pioneer Press" article.

JRLC Day on the Hill: An Opportunity to Raise our Collective Voice for Justice

2009-02-04T14:40:00.005-06:00

Tuesday was the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s annual Day on the Hill. More than 850 people of faith from around the entire state – including Catholic Charities staff – gathered at Minnesota’s Capitol to advocate on behalf of those living in poverty and crisis.

The Larry Gibson Social Justice Award was presented to S. Mary Heinen, former Catholic Charities board member, for her volunteer work as a health care advocate with the St. Mary’s Health Clinic. Following this presentation, citizens met with their state representatives and senators to talk about housing and homelessness, health care and Minnesota’s budget shortfall. They also encouraged their legislators to keep alive the vision offered in the recommendations from the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020, despite the current budget crisis. See www.lcep.leg.mn for its final report and list of recommendations.

Much of the discussion with legislators centered on fixing Minnesota’s $4.8 billion dollar budget shortfall, and how the Governor’s budget fixes will affect those in poverty.

“Of the $2.5 billion in budget cuts the Governor proposed, nearly $1.3 billion come from the Health and Human Services Budget,” said the JRLC’s director, Brian Rusche. “That’s a disproportionate amount of the budget fix coming from programs that directly support people living on the margins who need a safety net.”

Adam Robinson
Public Policy Organizer
Catholic Charities’ Office for Social Justice

Remember Those in Need

2009-02-03T15:04:00.011-06:00

A recent letter from a donor reminded me that homelessness, mental illness and crisis can strike any family at any time.

The letter thanked Catholic Charities for providing "housing and supportive services for my cousin Susan at Mary Hall. She was homeless and suffering from mental illness and former addiction problems. There is now hope for her future."

About 67 percent of Catholic Charities adult clients self-identify as having mental illness. We know the number is likely closer to 75 percent.

The governor's budget has been proposed. We eagerly and anxiously wait to hear what the DFL-controlled House and Senate have to offer.

When they sit down to hash out how to balance the budget, they need to remember people like Susan and her family. Join the conversation. Tell us whom else they should remember.

Fr. John Estrem

CEO

MinnesotaCare: What would cuts mean?

2009-02-02T16:03:00.008-06:00

Last week, Governor Pawlenty presented his budget proposal to the Legislature. Minnesotans were shocked to learn that one of the cost-saving mechanisms the Governor had used to balance the $4.8 billion budget shortfall was to cut adults off the MinnesotaCare health insurance program.

MinnesotaCare is a state program that was developed in the early 1990s to provide health insurance coverage for working adults and their children. Low-income working families and individuals were able to apply for health insurance if their employers didn’t offer that benefit. MinnesotaCare is funded by the Health Care Access Fund, which comes from a 2 percent tax on health care providers and by premiums paid by enrollees.

Right now, adults who make less than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guideline and have less than $10,000 in assets are eligible for MinnesotaCare. Put another way - you can work 40 hours a week for $10 an hour and use MinnesotaCare if your employer doesn’t offer you health insurance. It’s a way to keep working people healthy.

Already, more than 439,000 Minnesotans lack health insurance coverage. Cutting adults off MinnesotaCare would drive that number higher. During the current economic crisis, people need more help, not deeper cuts. Governor Pawlenty’s proposals would eliminate nearly 90,000 people from state health care programs.

But what, in real terms, would cuts to MinnesotaCare mean?
A good example is a family that has been assisted by Catholic Charities in the past year. The family consists of a mom and a dad and their three children. Mom and Dad are both working. Their employers don’t offer health insurance, but they make too much money to be insured by the state’s Medical Assistance program, which only serves extremely low-income people.

Unfortunately, during her last pregnancy, Mom was told that she has several serious and chronic health problems. She’d like to keep working to provide for her family, but without health care, it will be impossible for her to remain healthy enough to work.

Governor Pawlenty’s cuts to MinnesotaCare would mean this mother and her family would be stuck between impossible situations. She makes too much money to be eligible for Medical Assistance, but by working to keep her family out of poverty, she’s ineligible for the health care she needs to stay employable.

Adam Robinson
Public Policy Organizer
Office for Social Justice

Waiting for the Invitation

2009-01-29T13:03:00.013-06:00

Mabel couldn’t get health insurance under the governor’s budget proposal.

A 20-something student, Mabel last year received care through Catholic Charities' Prenatal Services and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Mabel’s finishing up her degree in nursing and caring for her daughter, who’s almost a year old.

The governor’s proposal would eliminate coverage to the parents of children who qualify for state insurance. MNCare provides insurance for those who don’t qualify for medical assistance or can’t afford private health insurance on their own. MNCare participants pay for the insurance, which is less expensive than that offered through employers or the private marketplace. Mabel’s daughter could still get coverage. But Mabel wouldn’t. Nor could she get dental care.

We’ve learned in the 140 years that Catholic Charities has served the Twin Cities that lack of health insurance remains one of the top reasons people slide into poverty. All it takes is one visit to the emergency room, a minor health care crisis or a large dental bill to throw off a family budget, cause them to miss a month’s rent or to skip car repairs, leaving them facing eviction or without transportation to work or school.

Though we know it’s far from final, the governor’s proposed budget should concern everyone. If the cuts to MNCare Eligibility to Parents pass the legislature, Mabel and thousands of others would have to pay out of pocket for their routine dental and health care.

Proposals such as these make neither common nor moral sense. We’re happy to sit down at the table with the governor and lawmakers, have the tough conversations and come up with creative solutions. We’re just waiting for the invitation.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Real Cuts Cause Real Pain for Real People

2009-01-28T13:27:00.010-06:00

As the State of Minnesota works to balance a $5 billion projected budget shortfall for the 2010-2011 biennium (which actually runs from July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2011), we are bracing for cuts to programs that serve low-income Minnesotans. Governor Pawlenty got the ball rolling yesterday with the release of his budget proposal, and the news is not good for those we serve at Catholic Charities.

Unfortunately, many of the governor’s budget solutions would cut the ground out from beneath single adults and families struggling in this economy.

It looks like the governor intends to cut every adult off of Minnesota Care, which currently provides basic health care for working, low-income adults and children. This would cut off 28,000 parents, and potentially up to 68,000 childless working adults by the year 2013.

The Governor’s proposal eliminates dental benefits for the public health programs, including General Assistance Medical Care, which serves extremely poor single adults. Child care takes a hit ($20 million), and the Renter’s Credit would lose $100 million for the coming two years. Regretfully, these are just a few of the cuts to the Health & Human Services programs that serve as the safety net for so many. In the governor’s budget we see real cuts to real people that will result in real pain.

Budgets are moral documents that reflect the priorities of citizens. As we move forward, what stories will be told and what values given voice?

To find out who represents you, visit http://www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/ To find information about the Governor’s budget, visit http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/fin/budget

Patrick Ness
Public Policy Manager, Catholic Charities

Minnesota Budget Bites

2009-01-28T11:24:00.007-06:00

The Minnesota Budget Project, run by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, blogs about the budget process at Minnesota Budget Bites. Read more about the initial reaction to the Governor’s budget proposal, released yesterday.

Minnesota's Greatest Asset - Its People

2009-01-27T11:47:00.004-06:00

Like many in the state, we eagerly and anxiously await the governor’s budget proposal he plans to release today.

We know his proposal won’t be the end of the budget crisis, and we know the discussions, debates and arguments about how to close the $5 billion gap will continue long into the spring.

As our elected officials make tough choices about revenues and expenditures, we ask them and everyone to remember Minnesota’s greatest asset remains its people.

Even in an economic downturn, we must invest in people. We must invest in all people, even those—especially those—whose lives don’t fit the mold that we believe they should. To do otherwise would be fiscally irresponsible.

We urge lawmakers to take any federal stimulus money and invest it in the people who live in Minnesota.

At Catholic Charities, we move people out of poverty. We cannot do that without investing in the people who live here. And we cannot do that without your willingness to speak on behalf of our neighbors who often go unheard.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

What kind of state do we want to live in?

2009-01-26T13:36:00.005-06:00

At a time when more people face layoffs and those living in poverty are further threatened, there will be a need for more – not fewer – services that support the unemployed and their families. We need to continue to make progress fighting poverty by making critical investments that protect the vulnerable.

It is likely that by the time the February 2009 Forecast is announced, the deficit will climb to $7 billion. If this happens, nearly 15 percent of the state’s budget will be on the line. If we solve this problem by cutting spending alone, many significant programs will disappear or be damaged beyond repair.

Even as we wait for the governor to announce his budget, we know that local units of government and health and human services face huge cuts in state dollars. Those dollars provide basic public services like snow removal and street repair and protections for the most vulnerable of our citizens.

Let us take courage in the fact that many Minnesotans are willing to sacrifice, even when they are feeling a bit insecure themselves. Some even believe politics is the art of the possible. Many believe the situation we face gives us an opportunity to reevaluate the kind of state we want to live in. It allows us to look at our own willingness to do what it takes to provide decent education, health care, housing, job creation and supports for low-income families.

Kathy Tomlin
Director of the Office for Social Justice

If not we, then who? If not now, then when?

2009-01-21T15:02:00.009-06:00

The Launching of the Recommendations of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020 was held today in St. Paul. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis spoke. Read his speech below. To learn more about the commission, visit www.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/lcep/ or our page on the Commission.

Minnesota Without Poverty
If Not We, Then Who? If Not Now, Then When?

Launching of the Recommendations of the Legislative Commission
to End Poverty by 2020
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them (as their God).
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, (for) the old order has passed away."
The one who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."
–Revelation 21:1-5

As many of you know, this powerful vision of a new creation is found at the conclusion of the Book of Revelation, the final text in the New Testament. In this often misunderstood book, the author pens what is ultimately a profoundly hopeful message, a message that was composed in the midst of overwhelming odds and the circumstances of brutal persecution. The author proclaims to those who are witnessing their lives, turned upside down, a message of great hope and perseverance: “Do not be afraid! Good will win! Even when all seems lost, in the end we will triumph!”

I wish to begin my remarks today by putting before us, this biblical vision of hope and renewal precisely because it is the sort of hope which St. John advocates in His Apocalypse that we as a people of goodwill must foster as we work for the systemic change that will bring about the goals annunciated by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty. To end poverty can indeed seem like a daunting task that is far beyond our grasp and abilities. And yet in the face of overwhelming odds, like St. John, we cry out in hope the words of the great baptist spiritual, a powerful and moving paraphrase of Revelation’s central message:
“We shall overcome!”

I want to express my appreciation to my predecessor, Archbishop Harry Flynn and to my friend, Bishop Peter Rogness, for calling the community to work together to battle our relentless foe, which is poverty. If I’m not mistaken, I believe that the very title of this event came from a quotation that Archbishop Flynn used in a speech about ending poverty. “If not we, then, who? If not now then, when?”

I realize that it may be difficult to keep such a grand vision of triumph over the evil of poverty in front of us when we are confronted with such a significant economic downturn and budgetary crisis. But the apocalyptic vision of St. John reminds us that, even when all seems hopeless, the triumph of goodness, truth, and beauty is to be trusted and fought for.

All of us are hurt when any one of us cannot even afford to meet our basic needs. Food, housing, health care, education and employment are necessary for the proper development of any people. This knowledge should compel us to take action with hopeful trust that our efforts matter and will make a difference.

Of course, it has to be admitted that the recommendations being offered by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020 are only words on paper at this point. Making those recommendations come to life is now the challenge for all of us.

As we go forward, it will be necessary for people from all sectors of our community and from many different faith traditions to work together on behalf of—but most importantly to collaborate WITH - those who are currently living in poverty. Our discussions at the legislature, in our congregations, in corporations, in schools and hospitals about our economic future will affect the poor most of all.

Make no mistake, the life and dignity of men, women and children hang in the balance of this essential work. I am reminded of a statement made by the Catholic Bishops in their 1986 pastoral, Economic Justice for All, and I quote:

“Decisions must be judged in light of what they do for the poor, what they do to the poor, and what they enable the poor to do for themselves. The fundamental moral criterion for all economic decisions, policies, and institutions is this: They must be at the service of all people, especially the poor.”

In other words, we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. If we are willing to embrace this rather radical notion, surely, we will make great progress towards ending poverty.

The broad categories included in the recommendations of the commission deserve our attention and engagement. We must evaluate how we both protect and enhance the state’s employment opportunities, its financial assets and our economic infrastructure in ways that promote and protect the common good.

We are challenged to tap into the best of our empathy, compassion and care and do the hard work of ending poverty. Make no mistake about it, I do not believe that this is an easy task, but it is a task that has been given to us by God Himself. It is ours to resolve with his help.

As I conclude my remarks, let me express my gratitude for each commissioner here present and for all of those who participated in refocusing the public’s concern on this gravely important issue.

I also appreciate and want to recognize the time and talent that the executive committee of the commission has given to this project. Thank you for your work and advocacy on behalf of the poor and the vulnerable. May God bless and guide both your efforts and ours. And let us be resolved that: “We shall overcome!”

Thank you.

- Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

An invitation for dialogue

2009-01-20T15:06:00.005-06:00

Welcome to Catholic Charities’ blog, an opportunity for you to talk with others about issues that matter, regardless of where you fall on the issues.

I invite you to participate in the conversations about issues related to poverty, housing, homelessness, early childhood education, health care.

We simply ask that the discord be respectful. You can disagree with us and others participating in the conversation. In fact, I encourage you to ask the hard questions of yourself, of your fellow posters and of us at Catholic Charities.

The responsibility falls on each of us to understand and help others understand how and why empowering the less fortunate frees us all. The onus rests with each of us to step forward and have the tough conversations about what kind of society we want to live in.

Fr. John Estrem
CEO

Raising Voices for the Common Good

2009-01-14T09:36:00.009-06:00

Almost a century ago, the founders of the Catholic Charities movement in this country said they would be the attorneys for the poor, that they would speak out on behalf of those whose voices go unheard.

Today, the advocates, volunteers, donors and staff of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis continue that tradition of helping those who cry out the least and suffer the most.

Our mission calls for us to serve those most in need and call for justice in the community.

Every year, we serve 40,000 people through our four divisions. People from all walks of life seek help through our Family Services, Housing and Emergency Services and Children’s Services divisions. And they rely on the work of our Advocacy division to address societal barriers that, often unintentionally, trap and force people into poverty. Dozens of parish social justice teams work with our Office for Social Justice, and hundreds of people volunteer to contact lawmakers to speak out on behalf of those who often go unheard.

Our simple agenda of food, shelter and dignity isn’t an empty slogan. This blog will be a place to raise the profile of issues our clients often face and discuss what kind of community we want to live in, what type of society we want to be.

The 2009 Minnesota legislative session opened one week ago. Join in the conversation as we discuss how the work of the legislature impacts people living in poverty.

With your help, we raise our voices for the common good. Because of you, the community listens to the voices of those who often go unheard. Through your support, we honor our legacy of being attorneys for the poor and call for justice in the community.

Welcome to Catholic Charities' blog

2009-01-02T14:02:00.000-06:00