The 29 counties serviced by the Catholic Charities of Pueblo are colored blue on the following map.
Each year nearly 4000 people walk through the doors of Catholic Charities of Pueblo. We serve individuals, couples, families with infants, children and adolescents, the frail and elderly. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or religious affiliation. Though services are available to anyone in the community, CCDP primarily serves high-risk individuals and families who live at or below poverty. Agency-wide, 84% of CCDP’s clients make less than $25,000 annually; 63% earned incomes less than $10,000. Fees are dependent upon the types of service rendered. Every effort is made to provide services to anyone seeking assistance. All services are confidential.
In the Jewish Scriptures, the biblical concept of justice concerned the care of the widow, orphan and stranger. The prophets taught the people that their relationship with God was defined by how their community responded to the needs of the widows, orphans and strangers living in their midst.
Today, at Catholic Charities, the widow may be a single mother who left a violent spouse or grandparent raising her grandchildren on her own. And the orphans...yes, sometimes an infant is abandoned, but what about the single men and women, abandoned by family and friends, who live in isolation around us while suffering from mental illness or a physical, mental or developmental disability?
Who is the stranger amongst us? Here in southern and western Colorado our economy is bolstered by men and woman who come here alone from somewhere else, willing to take on the most difficult, the most menial and sometimes the most dangerous work to build a better life for them and a hopeful future for their children.
In 2004 Catholic Charities served more people and provided more hours of service than ever before. The numbers tell part of the story: we taught 751 English As a Second Language classes to newcomers in our community; provided almost 2,000 hours of clinical counseling to men, woman and children struggling with depression, anxiety, or the aftermath of violence.
We made 2900 home visits through the Family Education and Empowerment Program to help strengthen families and make better parents; and over 2100 individuals stabilized their finances and did not become homeless thanks to the assistance they received through Money Management Services and Emergency Assistance for Rent Mortgage and Utilities. We distributed over $250,000.00 in emergency assistance grants.
But there is more to Catholic Charities than numbers….the real story is people. The people we serve remind us daily that we are all children of one God. Catholic Charities is blessed to have a staff of women and men who are dedicated to the agency's mission and will do whatever it takes to make that mission statement come alive for the people with whom they work. We have a Board of Directors who provide strong leadership and are willing to make hard decisions to insure that the agency has the resources it needs to do its work. And Catholic Charities is supported by many individuals and organizations, including the Diocese of Pueblo and Pueblo County United Way, providing the funds needed to fulfill our mission.
So, in a very real sense, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo is a diverse community of people who take the lessons of the prophets to heart every day. Together we heal wounds, build and strengthen families, and celebrate our universal humanity.
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