Infants and children through age 18 are waiting to be welcomed into a loving, safe environment. School-aged children and those in sibling groups are in special need of placement with a family. Training and support are provided for those who wish to become foster parents.

In addition to the role of foster parent, many opportunites exist to use your gifts and talents to help young people in our community.

• Help an individual or family prepare their home for a foster child by providing home upgrades, furniture or other necessary items to help the family meet state requirements.
• Provide clothing, bedding or household supplies.
• Coordinate or support a parish Christmas Giving tree or a Back to School clothing and supplies drive by becoming a Fulfill-A-List leader.
• Support families in providing fun activities by securing gift certificates or funds for movies, restaurants, toy stores, clothing stores or music, video or computer items.
• Pray for Foster Children and their Care Givers.

DIGNITY

DIGNITY is an education-based program for women wanting to leave prostitution and start a new life for themselves.

Parishes can partner with DIGNITY to provide:

• Transportation – Women or couples to transport clients to doctor appointments, Social Security Office, Department of Economic Security and other places that provide help and support

• Shopping Assistance – Provide transportation to the store and help clients learn to shop on a budget

• Workforce Development – Help clients obtain literacy skills to complete their GED, develop job skills, create resumes and provide other support to help them find and retain employment

• Recreational Support – Volunteer to assist women in learning to have fun by doing scrapbooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting etc
• Shift Volunteer - Hands on interaction with residents

Refugee Services

Catholic Charities assists refugees in starting a new life in the United States. The program has many functions, such as finding and furnishing a home for the refugees, picking them up at the airport, and coordinating initial medical and mental health care visits.

Parishes can partner with Refugee Services to provide:

• Tutoring -  Help families develop English as a Second Language
• Mentoring - Provide support for the newly arrived family
• Fulfill a List - Provide furnishing, household items and other needs to help the family settle into their new home.

Emergency Services

This program connects people in crisis with needed community resources that can help them move beyond crisis to a state of emotional and financial stability. The program also offers financial assistance for various emergency needs when necessary, but the funds are limited.

Sitting in her office, the phone rings regularly for the East Valley Information and Referral person. "What people need more than anything, is someone to listen, says Carmen Berrios. Listening to her answer phone calls it is clear that she expemplfies the mission of Catholic Charities by Affirming human dignity and developing just and caring communities for vulnerable children, families at risk, and people in crisis.

This is one of the stories she had to share:

No one really thinks about the things that make it so hard for the working poor. Someone diagnosed with cancer has to take a few days off each week to receive and recover from chemo-therapy. Perhaps they have insurance for their healthcare, but what happens when they no longer have any sick leave at work? How do they make up for the lost pay from not working a couple of days each week? If we, as a community, don't step up to help our neighbors who experience this kind of crisis, then more people end up unable to pay their mortgage or rent and we have more people who need more assistance. Stepping in now, will help people maintain their abiltity to care for themselves and their families.

What do people need? They need neighbors who care. Utility assistance, rental

assistance, networking to find employment or transportation, short-term loans through Catholic Charities Hand Up program..all of these are ways you can be involved in the lives of the poor and vulnerable. In short, eveyone needs a community to support them through crisis and help them get back on their feet.

This program can also always use diapers and wipes!

For information about how to donate, contact Lisa Laliberte at llaliberte@cc-az.org, or Donate Online.