Adrianna Fernandez-Ruffer, CCDP’s Immigration Services Office Program Coordinator, realized that one of the biggest barriers to reconciliation on both sides of the immigration debate is a lack of reliable information. Such ignorance leads to fear and deeper division. But four events held in Pueblo, Rocky Ford and La Junta worked to overcome such barriers.

Each free event drew dozens of attendees, eager to connect with, and hear from the distinguished speakers. Pueblo police chief Luiz Chief Velez talked about how the Pueblo Police Department works with undocumented people. He assured the audience that his office is open to comments, suggestions and advice from the public.

Sister Nancy Crafton also spoke on behalf of Centro De Los Pobres, the principal Center for immigrants in Pueblo. She serves as a witness for many deportation cases and as such, she understands their struggles well. Her primary message to participants focused on the consequences of deportation on any family left behind.

Julie Gonzalez from the Colorado Immigrant Rights Commission talked about how the Obama Administration is going about reviewing all 300,000 of the current deportation proceedings in the U.S. The aim of the review, she said, is to reduce deportations of “lower priority” immigrants, such as students participating in the DREAM Act, military families and those with significant ties to the U.S.

“I am very, very pleased,” says Mrs. Fernandez-Ruffer about the events. “My office gained fifteen new clients, some of whom were from other States. This is why we are here.”

Future events will be held in Grand Junction, Montrose, Gunnison, Durango, Cortez, La Junta, Rocky Ford, Manzanola, Avondale and Pueblo. Mrs. Fernandez-Ruffer also intends to coordinate future local community events with CSU-Pueblo, Pueblo Community College and local high schools.

For more information about the immigration services offered at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Pueblo, please call the Immigration Services Office at (719) 544-4233 or email Adrianna at afernandez@pueblocharities.org.

Each week, the White House opens its doors to community leaders from across the country to participate in a daylong briefing and dialogue. I was privileged to attend the Community Leader’s Briefing along with our Board member, Kathy Worthington, from Xcel Energy. The event focused on opportunities to work together to accomplish our mission of serving communities and reducing poverty.

During the morning session, senior officials shared the President’s priorities regarding economic opportunity and poverty alleviation. Rounding out a morning of other distinguished speakers, Chief of Staff Bill Daley facilitated a lively Q&A and discussion session.

In the afternoon, Agency staff and staff from Agency Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships met in breakout sessions with the CCUSA leaders to focus on five specific issues: jobs and economic development, human services, housing, immigration and military families and veterans.

In the Jobs session, the Department of Labor Faith-based Center shared information with participants on Job Clubs and employment and skills training grants, and the SBA Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership Office shared information about the role faith-based and community nonprofits can play as micro-loan intermediaries.

I came back inspired by some of the opportunities to work with the government, particularly with job creation and am exploring collaborative partnerships on that right now. I also enjoyed the opportunities to meet with fellow directors and discuss our programs and learn from them.

Sometimes it is very easy to forget we are all a part of a larger national network of Catholic Charities agencies. We have long-standing partnerships with the federal government on challenges ranging from housing to disaster response to child welfare and more. Just as Catholic Charities heard from us about new partnership opportunities, so we learned more about the innovative work of Catholic Charities agencies on the ground, every day, for over 100 years.

Start at the beginning.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Pueblo offers classes for fathers to help do just that: learn the basics of how to parent. The program is facilitated by Patrick Hatchett and Ron Carroll, both AmeriCorps members.

The 12-Week sessions are designed to help men become aware of the many decisions they make throughout their lives and the effect those decisions have on their families. The first thing discussed in the class is how they were raised and
the influence the male figure had on them. They focus on the father they want to be.

The class also deals with tougher issues, like drugs, alcohol and domestic violence. At the request of the men participating in the class there is also a support group that meets on Wednesday nights.

“My family has had a very tough time recently,” says one class member. “I was surprised about how open and caring the group members are. My four children love to go to parenting class; they ask me about it every week.”

“This class has enriched my life in more ways than one,” says another participant. “(It) has allowed me to gain strength within to make changes. These changes have made my life better for me and my son.

“I’m a better dad now,” he says. “I’m more in control of my life.”

For more information about parenting classes and other services offered at Catholic Charities, CLICK HERE.

In Pueblo, there is a movement to address these mental health issues head-on. Check out the video below to see what’s happening here in our community:

Mental Health: A Positive Community Change from Christian Piatt on Vimeo.

It’s a natural response to feel a little paralyzed when we are faced with need that is so much greater than our capacity to address it. But at Catholic Charities, it inspires us to work that much harder. As Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.” With your help, we will bring the number of people left without assistance down over time.

The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 also comes to mind. Imagine that many hungry people, faced with getting everyone what they needed with only handful of rations. Some folks probably felt hopeless. Maybe even a little bit of group panic set in.

But when we truly commit ourselves to caring for one another and sharing what we have, there is always enough.

The miraculous act of Jesus feeding the crowd began with the generosity of one child sharing what he had. Everyone was fed, with baskets of food left over. But it all started with someone who thought of others first and shared what they had.

If you’ve been fortunate enough not to worry about waking up to a dark house, without water or air conditioning, or if you’ve ever benefited from the generosity of others, count your blessings. Please consider passing that blessing on to others in great need. Make a gift through our website today. We’ll make sure it gets into the hands of those so desperate for support.

Thank you for being a part of this faithful act. As long as there is need in this community, Catholic Charities is here to help. We’re privileged to count you as a partner in this life-giving mission

As the following story and video from our local KRDO News Station reported, we currently have to turn away as many as one thousand people a month who ask for utility assistance because we’ve run out of money.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY AND SEE THE VIDEO

So what can we do about this? We’re working diligently every day to try and raise more money from foundations, public sources, corporate sponsors and individuals, but it’s a formidable challenge. The fact is that we can’t close this gap of need without your help.