Catholic Charities of Louisville

Refugee programs: ccl has participated in the refugee resettlement efforts of the u.s. conference of Catholic bishops (usccb) since shortly after world war ii. It officially formed the migration and refugee services (mrs) program in 1975, in anticipation of an influx of refugees from southeast asia. Through usccb, ccl has contracts with the state department and the office of refugee resettlement of the health and human services department to provide resettlement services to various immigrant groups including refugees, asylees, and cuban parolees. Through the Kentucky office for refugees (a department of Catholic Charities), mrs also receives funding to provide these individuals with services and assistance.the mrs mandate is to assist clients to become financially and socially independent and integrated into the larger society here in the united states, all within a reasonable time frame. Mrs applies a holistic approach in refugee resettlement, using all the methods of social work to provide long-lasting solutions to the problems and situations that refugees and immigrants face.mrs provides case management, employment, and non-employment services to its clients, including english language training at its own english language school, where adults learn the skills needed to enter the workforce, and services to children such as school enrollment and access to daycare. In recent years mrs has expanded its services to include family learning programming and wrap-around services associated with head start and early head start programs to english learner families (refugees or other immigrants). Through funding from lirs, mrs also participates in the safe release services and home safety/post-release services programs, which provide screening and case management services to sponsors receiving minors as they are released from office of refugee resettlement run shelters. From july 2022-april 2023, mrs provided refugee cash assistance to 6386 individuals. As of this writing, mrs has served 343 refugee arrivals in fy22. Mrs is ready to respond to an anticipated influx of refugees in the next few years, as the biden administration intends to increase refugee admissions.

Case management services: bakhita empowerment initiative, an anti-human trafficking program, was created in 2007, with a mission to increase awareness of human trafficking, providing training, awareness, and technical assistance to professionals and community members, engage in prevention work, offer outreach to high-risk populations, provide direct services to survivors of trafficking, and increase capacity to address human trafficking issues in Kentucky and the larger anti-trafficking field. Bakhita's vision is to dismantle systems that promote human trafficking, support survivors, and build capacity to address human trafficking at all levels. Today ccl's program employs five full-time staff members located in louisivlle, owensboro, and lexington to provide statewide support to survivors of any age or gender, who have experienced sex or labor trafficking. Bakhita supports foreign born and domestic survivors, ensuring that case management services are individualized to best support each individual. I support provided to survivors of human trafficking through bakhita includes case management, provision of basic needs (food, clothing, etc. ), legal advocacy, interpreter services, immigration legal services, therapy services and housing assistance. Supportive services help to ensure their personal safety, increase stability, encourage empowerment, and improve the overall well-being of survivors. Community support services program began as the mother infant care (mic) program in 2000 with support, volunteerism, and partial funding from the queen's daughters organization to carry on their mission of helping young pregnant women in our community after the closure of Louisville's infant's home. Css is comprised of various programs that support individuals and families in all stages of life. Much of the work done in this department focuses on serving families with young children, with the three main programs being mother-infant care, mama matters, and family support on-the-go through our family services. During these programs, parents in the community can learn and discuss topics such as infant safety, parenting, and the importance of self-care. Family services not only coordinates educational workshops but also offers community referrals, baby resources to program participants, and financial assistance on a limited basis. Css also provides other supportive services to individuals and families including a parent/child playgroup, case management for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking participating in rapid rehousing with st. vincent de paul, an indigent burial program for unable to pay for final disposition after death, a food pantry to serving anyone with need but aiming to serve those living in the south Louisville area, and referral and support to hispanic community members. Ccl has housed the long-term care ombudsman program (ltco) in the Louisville area for more than twenty-five years. The ltco program is dedicated to improving the lives of the residents who live in long-term care facilities in the kipda and lincoln trail districts by protecting their rights. The ltco program represents the residents of long-term care facilities (nursing facilities, personal care homes, family care homes, and as of october 2022 assisted living facilities), investigating complaints made by residents, family, or other concerned community members, and bringing about a resolution that is satisfactory to the resident. Ltco staff visit each facility at least once per quarter to ensure that residents receive the care and services they need, and make sure they are aware that ltco services are available to them at no charge. Ltco staff also provides training to the staff of nursing home facilities on the older americans act, residents rights, and regulatory compliance. Complaints have always been received through a variety of communication channels, but prior to the pandemic, ombudsmen were able to provide many services to residents and families via face-to-face visits. Covid-19 restrictions forced ltco to rely primarily on phone and video meetings with residents, families, and facility staff. As we have moved back to normal operations ltco has resumed in person services, while implementing communication channels utilized during the pandemic. Regardless, ltco responds to any complaint with the permission of the resident or resident representative/legal guardian to investigate, and works to find resolution to the issue. Currently ltco is responsible for nearly 9,200 beds in the kipda district and over 3,700 beds in the lincoln trail district.the sister visitor center is an emergency assistance program that assists individuals and families through financial crisis and food insecurity. They strengthen the community by working in solidarity with the economically vulnerable. The center's mission is to help meet the basic needs of neighbors living in the portland, russell, and shawnee neighborhoods of west Louisville. The center provides emergency financial assistance with rent, lg&e and water, access to a supermarket choice model food pantry, essential items for baby and toddlers, emergency supplies for neighbors experiencing homelessness, one-on-one case management, community resources, referrals, and snap enrollment assistance.in fy2022, svc assisted 3,483 unique households, comprised of 7,106 unduplicated individual clients with food, clothing, case management, and assistance with utilities and rent. Out of these unduplicated individuals, 5,262 received assistance with food, including 456 seniors.

Social enterprise: language services (ls), a social enterprise, has been operating for more than twenty years to assist service providers in Louisville to provide culturally appropriate services to limited english proficient clients or patients. Ls provides in-person, over-the-phone, video interpreting, and translation services to its clients. Its mission is to supply the limited english proficiency community with equal access to healthcare, education, and other social services by providing professionally qualified interpreters and to offer meaningful employment and job skills training to bilingual individuals who can assist us with our mission to serve the lep community. Prior to the pandemic, ls provided interpreters to more than 100 governmental, educational, healthcare, and other business entities in Louisville, covering more than 10,000 appointments a year and provided training to over 100 prospective interpreters per year, constantly securing new interpreters in our community. Through a grant from office of victims of crime of the department of justice, ls is helping entities in Kentucky to increase service capacity to residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, and/or limited english proficiency. Ls anticipates a significant increase in demand as new refugee arrivals increase. The mission of immigration legal services (ils) is to protect the rights of its clients under the laws of the united states and help them to access all the freedoms of our society. It fulfills that mission by providing quality professional services at low flat-fee rates, turning no one away for the inability to pay. As a member of Catholic legal immigration network, Inc. (clinic), ccl is obliged to keep fees affordable to serve the great demand for low-cost legal services in immigration law. Immigration legal services (ils) provides services in 26 different categories ranging from simple consultations to representations in the immigration court. In fy2022 ils opened 920 cases and during the first six months of fy2023 it opened 343 cases.common table (ct) is a unique culinary arts training program in Louisville because it is offered year-round to community members. The common table (ct) project was officially launched on june 1, 2015 with the purpose of offering an opportunity for unemployed or under-employed individuals to obtain marketable food service skills, and to generate revenue through lunch service and event catering. As the program has evolved through the years, it now offers boxed lunches and soups by subscription while training those who face barriers to employment to gain necessary soft skills and a marketable food handling certification to work in commercial kitchens. In june of 2020 common table moved to a new dare to care facility in west Louisville from its original location at st. anthony's. During the pandemic, ct has changed its menu and mostly focused on the soup subscription with delivery at several locations throughout the city. Common earth gardens (ceg) program was created 16 years ago with a mission to provide community members and newly arrived refugees with the opportunity to grow food, to build a community, to participate in the society, and to access local markets to supplement their incomes. Currently, ceg manages or helps to manage seven community gardens throughout Louisville, where 516 plots are tended by low-income families, many of them refugees. The gardens are very popular, and gardeners rarely relinquish their plots, leaving little opportunity for new families to obtain a plot in one of the gardens. Ceg also manages an incubator farm where gardeners are trained to grow their crop and sell it on the market. In partnership with the mission department, ceg is working on connecting refugee gardeners with farmers in the rural areas of the archdiocese, common earth.

Catholic identity and external relations: Catholic Charities engages parishes and the wider community with our programs and provides parishes and others with assistance and resources to do the works of charity and justic. Mission staff work with local schools, parishes, organizations, and other non-profits to educate on community issues, and provide tools to strengthen each individual's voice. We hold workshops on Catholic social teaching and current social issues. We organize refugee camp simulations with local schools to help young people better understand the challenges faced by missions worldwide on their quest to a new life in a new home. Catholic Charities manages and awards local grants through archdiocesan collections for Catholic relief services, Catholic campaign for human development and opportunities for life. We manage the prison and re-entry ministry for the archdiocese of Louisville, providing support to all who minister to the residents of prisons and jails.