Residents affected by the Leap Day tornado were able to find help at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Parish Center Saturday, where hundreds of boxes of food and personal care items were distributed.

The supplies, which were donated by Feed The Children, were distributed through Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri and Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church’s parish group, Our Lady Cares.

Dozens of volunteers spent Saturday handing out the boxes of supplies, visiting with residents and assessing their situation.

“We are all working to meet the needs of disaster survivors,” said Maura Taylor, executive director of Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri.

Read the rest of the article from Branson Tri-Lakes News here.

In Chelby Reynolds’ newly repaired home, there’s a ladder and a framed picture, both covered in signatures.
The names are from across the country and belong to the volunteers who helped repair her storm-damaged house.
“They were out there in the snow and the rain,” Reynolds said. “People say there aren’t people like that out there. There are.”
Rebuild Joplin, Catholic Charities and volunteers from AmeriCorps officially welcomed Reynolds, her daughter, Mary, and their four dogs home on Wednesday afternoon.
Reynolds, who purchased the home, her first, a year before the May 22 tornado, had been remodeling since she moved in.

Read the rest of the article from the Joplin Globe here.

MIDRO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, whose members are from diverse faith backgrounds, with a common mission to provide assistance to people and communities impacted by disaster, regardless of race, religion, sex or legal status, particularly the needs that are unmet by other relief programs.

“We appreciate the generosity Shell Oil has shown toward Missourians impacted by disasters, and also thank them for entrusting MIDRO with the means to help them,” said Eckrich, director of disaster response for Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri. Eckrich said MIDRO plans to advise local long-term recovery committees of the availability of the funds and gift cards, so they can apply to access them.

Breazeale, a long-time employee of Shell Oil’s Social Investment division, said the company has made similar donations to other states impacted by disasters this year.

Contact:  Jim Eckrich, 314-754-2726

By Joseph Kenny | St. Louis Review

Parish social ministry is an expression of love, Rachel Lustig told a gathering of parishioners from the Archdiocese of St. Louis and surrounding areas Oct. 22.

“We are doing this work because of what Jesus did for us,” Lustig said.

A senior vice president of mission and ministry for Catholic Charities USA, Lustig gave a talk at the Parish Social Ministry Regional Training in St. Louis attended by more than 160 people. The program sought to re-examine the connection between faith and justice, develop skills and strategies and help participants be heard, challenged and encouraged.

Lustig cited 12 characteristics of parish social ministry, noting the U.S. bishops’ statement that one of the most encouraging signs of the Gospel at work is the vitality and quality of social justice ministries in parishes. Parish social ministry is a form of discipleship through which the parish works with individuals, families and communities to address need and suffering, eliminate oppression and build a just and compassionate society, she said.

The work is completed “as a conduit of God’s love in society,” Lustig said.

The ministry is not easy, driving people to places they do not want to go, to reach out to those who have been ostracized and name systems that take advantage of some at the expense of others, Lustig noted. Those involved in the parish ministry are called to be the face of Christ and see the face of Christ in others, she added.

The parish ministry accepts the blessedness and brokenness of all humans and believes that with God’s grace things can be made more perfect, Lustig said. Parishes minister to and with poor, vulnerable and suffering people with a combination of relief, individual development, community development and organizing, and partnership and structural-change strategies to address symptoms and sources of suffering, need and injustice.

At a workshop on advocacy, Kathy Brown of Catholic Charities USA said the guide, rooted in Gospel values, is that “we believe in the sacredness of all life and the dignity of the human person.”

She cited the story of creation in the Bible and said “we were created into a community, as a relationship. We were not created as individuals. … we are ‘our brother’s keeper.’”

This view is counter to society’s emphasis on individualism, Brown said, pointing to various saints and others who have been advocates. She noted that Blessed John Paul II stated that service to the poor also involves speaking up for them and trying to reform structures that cause or perpetuate their oppression. Pope Benedict XVI also has spoken out on the need to be involved in advocacy.

Parishioners who came to the program said they came to learn. “I want to get involved in social justice. We have some programs at the parish, and I want to see how to go about it,” said Jeanette Froehlich of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Oakville.

Karla and Jorge Perez of All Saints Parish in St. Peters, who have been involved with mission trips, had similar motivation. “We want to do something here (locally), and this is a good starting place,” Karla Perez said.

Marianne Marxkors of St. Ferdinand Parish in Florissant said, “I want to learn how to more effectively instill in the people of the parish their power and their right to be advocates.”

KANSAS CITY — Thomas Ray couldn’t believe the change.

Ray, a retired truck driver, was one of the first residents to move into St. Joseph’s Place, a 47-unit federally subsidized apartment development for the elderly, spearheaded by Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

It was homecoming for Ray. He grew up in the notorious Wayne Miner high-rise housing projects which once sat on the very site of St. Joseph’s Place.

“It was pretty rough, crime-ridden,” he said on Aug. 16, the day Bishop Robert W. Finn joined local and federal officials in blessing and dedicated the latest Catholic Charities’ effort to provide quality housing for the elderly and disabled.

“It was like living in a penitentiary,” Ray said.

But now? “This is beautiful. And quiet,” he said. “It’s like being in heaven.”

St. Joseph’s Place is the newest of nine rent-subsidized apartment buildings that Catholic Charties has built in partnership with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and manages in partnership with the YARCO Corp. Seven of the buildings are in Kansas City, one is in Cameron and one is in Warrensburg.

It is what the Catholic Church is all about, Charities’ CEO Mike Halterman told the crowd gathered at 10th Street and Euclid Ave., for the dedication of St. Joseph’s Place.

“About half of the people who live in our apartments would be homeless if it weren’t for facilities like this,” Halterman said. “That is why we do it, and have done it for years with YARCO, our partners. This is the Catholic Church living out our mandate to serve the poor.”

The program to provide rent-subsidized housing for low-income elderly dates to the 1960s and former President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” programs.

Under the program, qualified elderly are charged 30 percent of their monthly incomes for rent, with the federal agency subsidizing the remainder under market rates.

Ray, and other early residents who worked for years at jobs that made none of them rich, said they couldn’t imagine where they would be if not for St. Joseph’s Place.

“Beautiful, lovely, quiet,” said Bonnie Greene, who recently retired as a laundry worker.

“I couldn’t afford the apartment I had in Raytown any more when I retired,” she said. “I am truly blessed that I got my apartment here. I’ve come a long way and worked hard to get here.”

Alonzo William, who uses a wheelchair, also used superlatives in describing his new home.

“It’s wonderful, and this is a good neighborhood,” he said. “We’re going to get good people in here and keep it that way.”

Wunetta Smith, a retired cook and day care worker, said she was recently widowed and could no longer afford the house she and her late husband were renting.

“This is a lot smaller than my house,” she said of her one-bedroom apartment. “But I got used to it, and I love it.”

Terri Porter, regional director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said St. Joseph’s Place is an example of how public and private partnerships can impact lives.

“Today, I get to see how the department’s funds can change communities and change lives,” she said.

“Without the vision and continued hard work of all the partners, our money would mean nothing,” Porter said.

Edwin Lowndes of the Kansas City Public Housing Authority that approved a 99-year lease on the land on which St. Joseph’s Place is located, also marveled at the transformation in the neighborhood.

“St. Joseph’s Place brings another piece of liveability to this community,” he said. “Here, we have a microcosm of what could happen in Kansas City. This is one more opportunity to pool our resources into a development that will become a vital part of Kansas City.”

Bishop Finn, as he officially blessed the apartment complex, told the crowd that it is fitting that it should bear the name of St. Joseph, the father of Jesus on earth.

“St. Joseph went to great pains to make sure that Jesus and Mary were provided for,” Bishop Finn said. “We are constantly asking St. Joseph for his help in accomplishing many tasks. We know that he has a direct line to our Lord, and he will bring many blessings upon this place.”

But the real blessings, the bishop said, will be the people who live and work at St. Joseph’s Place.

“This will be home to many people,” he said. “They will be truly blessed because of the people who live and work here.”

JEFFERSON CITY — Barely six months old in May, Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri was a two-person operation that had yet to hire its first permanent director when it was called to respond to its first natural disaster.

Heavy spring rains had swollen the Mississippi River, forcing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to blow a two-mile hole in the Bird’s Point Levee, flooding some 100 farms and homes in southeast Missouri in order to spare the 2,800 residents of Cairo, Ill., downstream.

Interim director Kyle Schott, working out of his home in Cape Girardeau, was still assessing and responding to the needs of those families on May 22 when he received a phone call he’ll never forget.

Three hundred miles across the state but still in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, an EF-5 tornado had flattened about one-third of the city of Joplin, killing 162 people.

“What do you do? We were a two-person organization, myself and an administrative assistant,” Schott said at a workshop at the annual Missouri Catholic Conference Assembly Oct. 1.

“You call out the cavalry,” he said, answering his own question. “You get your friends to help.”

Schott said he didn’t even have to call. Within hours of the tornado, Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph CEO Mike Halterman called him.

“He said, ‘Kyle, we’re coming in,’” Schott said.

By mid-week, a team of Catholic Charities professionals and volunteers from Kansas City-St. Joseph, the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Diocese of Jefferson City and from Catholic Charities USA were on the ground running, coordinating and organizing relief supplies that were pouring into the city from around the nation by the truckload.

And the Catholic Charities agencies also sent skilled case managers to listen to the stories of victims — the first step in healing — and assessing their needs and the available resources to address them.

That work is continuing, and will continue for months, if not years, said Maura Taylor, who came on board June 13 as Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri’s first permanent director.

“People are still devastated,” Taylor said. “They’ve lost loved ones, their jobs, their homes, their cars, their neighborhood and their churches. They don’t know where else to turn for help, and we’re there to help them.”

Taylor said that only three agencies are still providing case management services in Joplin — the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and Catholic Charities. Of the three, Catholic Charities is the largest provider.

“We have seen over 6,500 people in 2,800 families,” Taylor said. “We identify their immediate needs, then we help them develop a long-term plan to put them on the road to recovery.”

The Catholic Charities’ response in Joplin is a stunning example of the Catholic Church pulling together to serve people in desperate need, said Springfield-Cape Girardeau Bishop James V. Johnston.

“Not a day goes by when I don’t realize the significance of the church organizing itself to respond to those needs,” he said. “A lot of what we accomplished was because of our Catholic Charities agencies.”

The statistics from the response, just from Catholic Charities single emergency services center in Joplin, are staggering, Taylor said.

In addition to case management services, Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri has distributed more than $95,000 in direct cash assistance for needs ranging from rent and utility assistance to car repairs.

“They may have lost their car and bought a clunker to replace it, and now the clunker won’t run,” Taylor said.

Catholic Charities has also coordinated more than 60,000 hours of work from more than 3,700 volunteers, some of whom just showed up and said, “We’re here to help,” and others who came to do specific and vitally needed tasks.

For example, Taylor said, two men — one from Albany, N.Y., and one from Pittsburgh, Pa., — came with lumber and tools to build badly needed shelves for relief supplies at a warehouse Taylor was able to acquire.

Because of the help from other Catholic Charities agencies in quickly organizing relief supplies, Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri alone was able to distribute more than 4,200 tons — 8,400,000 pounds — of food, water, household items and paper and personal hygiene products.

That does not include the used car that was donated.

“That went to a young man who is turning his life around,” Taylor said. “He had a job, so he could pay for insurance. He is still working part-time, but he is now going back to school.”

Both Taylor and Schott also had advice for well-meaning people who loaded up supplies and drove them into Joplin — Don’t send used clothes. Every emergency center in Joplin is still swamped with bags upon bags of clothes, much of it unusable.

“Clothes are taking up space that should be used for other relief supplies or even for shelter for the people who lost their homes,” Taylor said.

“I know people are well-meaning,” Schott said, “but a lot of this looked like it was left over from a yard sale.”

Taylor also said that if people want to donate directly to a victim, send a Visa or MasterCard gift card that can be used virtually anywhere for any need. She said that store-specific gift cards should be avoided.

“We got a lot of Quik Trip gas cards,” Taylor said. “There aren’t any Quik Trips in Joplin.”

Taylor said that although donations poured into Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri initially, the ongoing needs will soon exhaust that money.

A critical point will be reached in November 2012, 18 months after the tornado, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be required to remove its temporary housing trailers.

Taylor said the tornado took out much of the city’s older, affordable rental housing south of downtown Joplin, and there will be little rebuilt to replace it.

Catholic Charities is working on a long-range plan to build affordable housing, as it still is trying to rebuild lives one at a time.

In addition to the critical need for cash donations, Taylor said that Catholic Charities would glady accept donations of bicycles that would solve transportation needs for many people. Other items badly needed include appliances in good condition, household items such as dishes and flatware, and building supplies, as well as the skilled volunteer labor to help repair and rebuild homes.

Bishop Johnston said the combined efforts of Catholic Charities has raised the profile of the church in an area of the state where Catholics are a small minority.

“It’s made people in our diocese aware of the many needs Catholic Charities serves,” he said. “It’s a concrete example of where the church needs to be — with people in need.”

Cash donations can be sent to Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, 601 S. Jefferson St., Springfield, MO 65806. People wishing to make in-kind donations of goods or volunteer labor should contact Gabe Tischler at the Joplin Donation and Distribution Center, 113 E. 9th St., Joplin, MO (417) 616-9314, or (417) 499-2920.

Luck says the funding comes at a good time, following a spring of weather-related disasters, including the Good Friday tornado in St. Louis, the record-breaking Joplin tornado, and the late May tornado in Sedalia.  In addition, many areas of Missouri, especially the Northwest and the Southeast, have been afflicted with relentless flooding this spring and summer, forcing families from their homes.

“We are blessed by the generosity of donors from around the country who have responded to our need,” said Luck, who added that the funding will be used for case management and direct assistance to those affected by the disasters, as well as support and technical assistance for the agencies responding to disasters.  “Each one of the Missouri Catholic Charities agencies has served the victims of these many disasters already, so this funding will provide on-going assistance for families moving towards long-term recovery.”

Catholic Charities of Missouri is a partnership of the four Catholic Charities agencies in the state. The partners include Catholic Charities of St. Louis, Kansas City-St. Joseph, Southern Missouri and Central and Northern Missouri. Together, the agencies provide services statewide to Missourians of all faiths.