Local Catholic organizations, such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Catholic Charities, are reaching out to those who have lost their jobs and are seeking employment.
Food, counseling offered to unemployed By LISA MAXSON Catholic Voice
The passing of the stimulus package has enabled the St. Vincent de Paul Society to help more people, specifically those who have lost their jobs, said Anne Severes, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Omaha.
The Society can apply for some of the money, but it must show that it is working in those areas hit hardest, specifically northeast and southeast Omaha, she said.
Severes said there is $108,000 available to Douglas County and St. Vincent de Paul would receive an amount based on where the Society serves and how much it is able to reach out.
"With that money we'll be able to help people with rent and mortgage and extra food," she said. "Even if we don't have the funds to help with rent or utility, which is what we normally do, we always give away groceries and supplement that way."
Severes said her focus is on keeping people in their homes.
"If you don't have a roof over your head, you're basically in trouble from the get go, so we're trying to keep people in their houses so they can at least continue to look for work and have a stable place for their mail," she said. "If you don't have a permanent mailing address, it's hard to get unemployment checks or social security checks or food stamps."
She said some areas have been hit harder by the economic turmoil.
"Our unemployment has stayed very low, the housing market hasn't tanked as it has nationally, however, there are pockets in north and southeastern Omaha that are triple the national average," Severes said.
Food and skills
Another Catholic organization reaching out to the unemployed is Catholic Charities. Although the organization does not specifically identify unemployed people using their services, Shelley Schrader, senior director for community services, said there has been an increase in the number of new clients, especially those from West Omaha.
"We're getting calls from the churches in West Omaha telling us that they have people in their parishes that have lost their jobs and want to know where they can get services," she said.
Schrader said Catholic Charities also has seen a "huge increase" in its food pantries. The organization tracks which clients are new and have never received before and that has gone up significantly, she said.
The two Omaha food pantries operated by Catholic Charities - Juan Diego Center and St. Martin De Porres Center - have seen a 64 percent increase between the first quarter this year and the first quarter last year (January through March), Schrader said.
"Our food budget is going fast. We're blowing it every month and we're asking for increased contributions from schools and churches. They've certainly come forward for us," she said.
On Father's Day weekend, Catholic Charities kicked off its "Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation Campaign" to increase the food in its pantries.
"We want to let people who have lost their jobs come more often because they're in immediate crisis and it's not going to go away right away," Schrader said.
In addition to the food pantries, Catholic Charities also offers long-term help through the Family Enrichment Program. People join the program and are given five areas to choose from to help increase their ability to take care of themselves, including financial literacy, parenting and education, Schrader said. The area she said it has worked hardest to develop is one for job seekers.
"More people are picking that as a goal that they need to work for," she said. "While we're not able to place people in jobs, what we're doing with them is providing a series of classes to help them to be out in the job market."
Along with writing a resume, clients learn "soft" job skills, and receive tips on how to hold a job once they have one, she said.
"The people accessing these services are unemployed," Schrader said. "Some are newly unemployed that have not been unemployed in the past."
Peace of mind
Through its Behavioral Health Services, Catholic Charities also has been providing counseling to people struggling with job loss.
Last November, Catholic Charities saw a peak in the number of people seeking counseling that identified their problem as being unemployed, said Melissa Brestel, program supervisor for Behavioral Health Outpatient Services.
The number leveled off by spring, she said, but still at a higher level than usual.
One issue many unemployed clients deal with is depression, and it's critical that Catholic Charities helps them through that depression, said Teri Hautzinger, marketing director for Catholic Charities.
"You don't find a job if you're depressed," she said.
The age of many people seeking counseling because of depression over a job loss is a little older than the average, she said, with Catholic Charities seeing more people between the ages of 30 and 50.
"These are people who never thought they would ever have to come to us," Hautzinger said.
In addition to helping people through their depression, counselors also help them figure out how to find meaning in their lives that isn't associated with a job, Brestel said.
"So many of us see ourselves as the jobs that we do and when you don't have a job, especially months on end, it really causes people to lose a piece of identity," she said.
Counselors spend time figuring out how to get people connected to volunteer work or something they find meaningful to fill the void until they're able to find employment, she said.
With some people, counselors work on interviewing skills and what the unemployed person can improve upon to make him or her feel more attractive to a potential employer, Brestel said.
"When someone doesn't have a job, it's not just that person's challenge, it's a community challenge. We've been very fortunate to have donations and fund raisers that have been really beneficial in helping those people. Again, it's that community coming together and providing opportunities."
