Catholic Charities: Providing meals resources and support for those in need | Empty Stocking Fund
Kristin wouldn’t be studying for two college degrees at Pikes Peak State College if not for the help she received from Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.
The 33-year-old single mother of three children is seeking degrees in medical coding and nursing after ending two relationships with the children’s fathers due to domestic violence. The life coaching program at Catholic Charities helped give Kristin the support system that she needed to improve her life. Originally from Minnesota, Kristin has been in the Colorado Springs area for five years and is only identified by her first name to protect her privacy.
“I didn’t have anybody, no support system, to give me somebody who was on my side and who would believe in me when I didn’t even believe in myself,” she said. “They taught me budgeting, got me into stable housing and got me to be mentally ready to dive into the world and get where I want to be. My end goal is to be an LPN (licensed practical nurse) when I get my nursing degree in about four years; it’s what I always wanted to do.”
Catholic Charities Is social service arm of the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs, serving an area stretching from Burlington to Leadville by providing help with rent, utility bills, meals, employment and health care to all who need assistance.
The agency has operated the Marian House to provide daily prepared meals to low-income and homeless persons since 1985 and has since added the Hanifen Employment Center and the Family Connections program at the former Helen Hunt Elementary School.
Inflation is rapidly increasing the need for the prepared meals, food and other services Catholic Charities provides in the 10 counties that make up the Colorado Springs Catholic Diocese and the agency continues to expand to meet those and other needs.
The number of meals served daily at the Catholic Charities Marian House Kitchen has climbed from 250 a day a year ago to about 300 today and its Marketplace food pantry has given away 21,000 pounds of food in September, up from 17,000 from September 2022, said Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado. The rising cost of living has both increased the number of people who can’t make ends meet and the amount of help they need, he said.
“The demand for services has increased because of inflation and we’ve seen that increase both from people who are housed and those who are unhoused,” Barton said. “Keeping people fed, warm and with transportation is the most critical work we do.”
The services Catholic Charities provides at the Marian House are designed to help prevent eviction, provide access to health care and provide food to those in poverty. Services provided in the Family Connections program include providing diapers and baby formula, children’s clothing, bus passes, gas cards, help in getting a driver’s license and vehicle registration, access to laundry facilities and showers and help with childcare.
The agency will soon expand its services at the Hunt campus with a $5 million construction project, funded by a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, that will convert one of the buildings into 24 apartments and is scheduled to begin in March. The studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are expected to be available in January 2025 to help homeless families stabilize their lives and escape homelessness.
Catholic Charities uses the $90,000-$100,00 it receives annually from the Empty Stocking Fund to provide services to homeless persons and families, “the most vulnerable in our community,” Barton said. The agency has been one of the agencies supported by the fund for 24 years, which “says something about the impact Empty Stocking Fund has had in our community that it has continued to help people for the past 40 years,” he said.
The agency was started in 1968 as Colorado Springs Catholic Social Services with funding from the Archdiocese of Denver and focusing on child welfare services, budget counseling and counseling for subsidized homes. The organization became part of the local diocese when it was carved out of the Denver Archdiocese in 1984. Catholic Charities is a separate nonprofit from the Diocese of Colorado Springs and has an annual budget of about $12 million.
To learn more visit: www.ccharititescc.org.