Catholic Charities

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by: Jill Kraft

Catholic Charities of Chenango County works diligently to provide quality services to a growing population with needs as diverse as food, shelter and clothing; childcare and pre-school options; individual, child and mental illness counseling; and crime victim support.

The year 2007 was a year of transition, according to Catholic Charities Executive Director Jane Coddington. “We had to eliminate programming in some areas and in others, we made additions.”

One of the prominent programs run by Catholic Charities is the Children’s Center on Virginia Lane. Coddington said the center is designed to prepare children for kindergarten and a special emphasis is on the four and five-year-olds.

“We have had a lot of good feedback from area schools,” she said.

The facility, which provides a secure day care and pre-school setting, serves a range of children from six weeks to five years old. New in 2007 was the addition of the 1-year-old classroom, Coddington said, to better meet the needs of that population. In addition, a new classroom aide was hired.

Catholic Charities’ Roots and Wings program, which helps to provide local and regional residents with food, clothing and household items, saw limited local funding last year, leading to the loss of a full-time staff member position. Currently the position has been filled with a part-time employee.

Although funding may have been reduced, Coddington explains the amount of food donated to the pantry appreciated throughout the year. She says a lot of breads and baked goods were donated from local stores, and what could not be used quickly enough at the pantry was donated to other organizations nearby.

“Also this year we received a lot of yogurt, fresh fruits and more produce than in the past,” said Coddington. Statistically speaking, 350 families used the pantry each month. Each household can use the service once in a 30-day period and take home enough food to eat three meals a day for five days.

One of the biggest adjustments for Catholic Charities was the closure of Crossbridge, an adolescent boys home which had been operating in Sherburne since 1992. Crossbridge was one of the three residential homes run by Catholic Charities. It housed up to seven boys at a time and employed six.

Coddington explained that a new state law re-directed foster care to take place in the child’s home, meaning residential care centers are no longer needed.

“We went from a full house in June to serving one person by November,” said Coddington. “This was a a difficult decision, but based on what was happening it was really the only choice we could make.”

As for the six employees at Crossbridge, Coddington says all of them were offered positions to stay within the organization – four of them did.

As Crossbridge now stands vacant, Coddington says she will present some ideas for future uses of the home to the Board of Directors.

The organization’s two other residential homes are the Chenango House in Norwich, an adult home for individuals suffering from mental illnesses that’s been in operation for roughly 20 years, and Trillium Place, in Oneonta, which serves residents from various counties including Chenango.

Trillium Place is a voluntary residential program involving children ages 12 to 18 who need intervention services for depression or other mental health aliments. As well as residential homes, the organization also has a supported housing program to support people who live on their own with mental disabilities.

“We try to help them succeed,” said Coddington, “If you are in your own home, no matter what you’re sick with, you heal faster.”

Coddington says one crisis bed has been added at Trillium since the adolescent wing of Fox hospital closed.

Services at Catholic Charities’ main building include counseling, art therapy – which had its first gallery opening show in partnership with the Chenango County Council of the Arts in ‘07 – and the Crime Victims program which now encompasses a newly-designed slate that began in the summer of 2007.

Coinciding with the crime victims program, Catholic Charities has joined forces with other agencies that would be in involved in criminal cases including child sexual misconduct and/or abuse. The new program was created to aid investigations and to gain the most evidence against perpetrators with minimal impact on the child victims. Those involved in the program help young victims come forward without having to be questioned at the police station. They provide a space behind the scenes to monitor and record a victim’s interview, as well as makes sure the atmosphere and family waiting room are comfortable.

The recorded information is also classified as suitable evidence in court so victims will not have to take the stand and testify. So far, the program has produced good outcomes with victims. “We have used this room a lot more than I thought we would have to,” said Coddington.

Newly named crime victims program Director Dan Auwarter says through his experience working previously as director of Crossbridge, he has seen the impact helping youths can have. He says he wants to advocate for the victims of domestic violence and provide services for people exposed to domestic violence situations. Trying to use the latest tactics for counseling and therapeutic services, Coddington says she and her staff have been concentrating on positive psychology with individuals seeking their services.

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