Diocesan groups get grants to aid poor
By Erick Rommel
Correspondent
Two local organizations dedicated to assisting the poor and underserved have received more than $50,000 in grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
“It shows that the need to break the cycle of poverty exists here in the diocese,” said Father Joseph J. Kerrigan, director, CCHD, Metuchen.
New Labor, a New Brunswick-based organization that provides a voice for low wage immigrant workers in the community received a $35,000 grant. ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a national organization that helps those who live in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The New Jersey chapter received a $20,000 grant.
This is the third year that each organization received CCHD grants. “They are organizations that were having impact in the diocese,” said Andy Slettebak, CCHD economic development coordinator. “They had a vision for, or a connection to, related organization efforts that could reach to the state level and have a broader impact.”
The CCHD is the church’s domestic anti-poverty program. Established by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1969, CCHD has two goals: to organize the poor as a method to help them develop economic strength and political power and to educate people about the problems facing the poor in order to promote a greater sense of solidarity.
CCHD works to achieve these goals by funding grants for community organizing and economic development. This year it gave more than $9 million nationally to almost 500 programs. The average grant size is $27,500; the largest grant amount is $50,000.
Grant money is provided to CCHD through diocesan collections, with 25 percent of all donations remaining in the home diocese. According to Patricia Murtha, diocesan accounting supervisor, the Diocese of Metuchen donated almost $75,000 to CCHD raised from a January collection. Approximately $18,000 remained in the diocese with $56,000 given to CCHD at the national level. Almost all of that money, $55,000, returned to the diocese through the grants to New Labor and ACORN.
Voice of the poor
Addressing the housing needs of poor and low-income families is a primary goal for ACORN. “The wealthy tend to be organized and have lobbyists and lawyers to speak for them and protect their interests,” said Kate Atkins, who organizes the N.J. ACORN chapter. “Low-income people too often have their basic rights violated and don’t have a voice in the basic policy questions that mean so much in their lives.”
During the recent battle over the N.J. state budget, ACORN joined with other community organizations to form a coalition to push for additional funding to the state rental assistance program. “People were facing cuts on the federal level, making it impossible to live in the state,” Atkins explained.
Through the efforts of the coalition, the rental assistance program received an additional $40 million in state funds.
ACORN also ensures the voice of the poor is heard in regard to economic matters. “When the state senate had a hearing on the minimum wage bill, the only low-income people to testify who had any experience working for minimum wage were 25 ACORN members,” Atkins said Atkins.
Improving work conditions
Over the past year, New Labor has also focused its energy on increasing the volume of low-income voices in the state. Through a recent campaign called “You have a voice, use it,” New Labor organized immigrants who later participated in a variety of events and rallies.
New Labor also used CCHD grant money to fund an effort called the Responsible Employers Campaign, which encourages businesses to set minimums for working conditions. “We ask them to comply with existing laws, including wage per hour, occupational safety and health and equal opportunity standards,” said Rich Cunningham, executive director, New Labor. “At the same time, we ask them to do certain things to make sure their workplaces are safe as can be and their workers have a voice.”
New Labor also provides educational programs for immigrants. At its offices, people have the opportunity not only to learn English but also improve their skills with computers and technology.
Involving those helped
To encourage the empowerment of poor, CCHD requires organizations to include people with low-incomes in key roles. Half of the people who plan, implement and make policy must be involuntarily poor, and half of those assisted by the organization must be people who experience poverty on a daily basis. In addition, organizations must have ongoing efforts to encourage leadership development in the community.
“The poor have to be leaders in their own stabilization. That really goes to the heart of what the Campaign for Human Development is about,” said Father Kerrigan. “It’s the proverbial hand up, not a hand out.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law