Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc.

2002-2003 Annual Report

San Pedro Region


Upon arrival at the Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence, children from grades K-8 are enrolled in Long Beach Unified’s Mary McLeod Bethune Transitional School.		Volunteers at Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence coordinate educational programs for children and offer activities which broaden and enhance the boys’ and girls’ experiences. A computer lab is available for the children at the Mary McLeod Bethune Transitional School.

Goals of the Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence are to: remove the pressures of homelessness for families; provide a caring, safe, supportive environment; increase homeless individuals’ understanding of how to access resources; reduce barriers to self-sufficiency, such as transportation, employment and mental health concerns; and help transition families into permanent and stable housing.

Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence, a 35-bed emergency shelter specifically for homeless families in crisis, allows families to stay together for up to 45 days. During the past year, 353 individuals, of whom 63% were children, received services such as daily meals, clothing, case management, counseling, crisis intervention and housing assistance. Working with staff, families design an all-inclusive service plan that focuses on addressing both immediate and long-term needs.

Over 5,800 people received emergency food, transportation vouchers, utilities assistance and case advocacy through the Family Resource Center in Pico Rivera. The center serves families with young children and provides baby food and diapers.

Long Beach Community Center performed 40,600 units of service for over 23,000 clients during fiscal year 2002-2003.

In January 2003, San Pedro Region’s community services established the Gatekeepers Program for seniors, 55 years of age and older, who live in the City of Long Beach. Case managers visit approximately 40 clients at home each month and provide food and access to supportive services such as transportation and healthcare referrals. A list of birthdays is maintained so that each client is recognized on his or her special day.

Catholic Charities’ San Pedro Region received a Technology Grant from the IBM Corporation. The purpose of the grant, administered locally by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, was to provide equipment for computer-based learning for young children, ages 3-7, from low-income families who do not have access to a computer at home. Once a week, children at Mahar House Community Center in Wilmington can take advantage of computer classes, which are taught using IBM Young Explorer systems. Computers are built into play stations and are loaded with software that teaches children about shapes, colors, letters and numbers.


When elderly clients come to Catholic Charities for assistance, a case manager conducts a needs assessment, sets up a care plan and monitors their progress.		Safety-net services, childcare, adult education and computer classes are among the programs available at Mahar House through The Family Development Network House, a multi-agency collaborative which served 1,427 clients in San Pedro, Wilmington and the Harbor Gateway.		Ninety-five percent of the people who live at Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence in Long Beach are single-parent families with a minimum of two to three children.

Santa Barbara Region


Catholic Charities’ food pantry in Santa Barbara serves approximately 5,500 lbs of food to 300 families each week. Another 125 clients receive food weekly in Isla Vista.		Supported through County of Santa Barbara Children and Families Commission, Prop 10 funds, low-income families in Guadalupe, Cuyama Valley, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Isla Vista, Santa Barbara and Caprinteria receive supplemental nutritional food for their children, ages 0-5.

89% of clients who come to Catholic Charities for assistance have an income of less than $13,000 a year. The St. Vincent de Paul/Catholic Charities Thrift Store, located adjacent to Catholic Charities’ Santa Barbara office, supplies affordable clothing and household goods to working-poor families.

Santa Barbara County

Rental assistance, offered each year to 200 low or very-low income families who live in the City of Santa Barbara, is designed to help clients maintain their current housing or obtain new housing.

With the aid of a grant from the State of California Children and Families Commission’s Public Education Program, staff from the Santa Maria office of Catholic Charities collaborate with local agencies to provide education and outreach to social services for the 300-predominately Latino and American Indian residents of Sisquoc, in rural Santa Barbara County.

Over 200 frail, elderly persons living in Santa Barbara County were served by the Older Adult Services (OAS) program during fiscal year 2002-2003. Key components of the program are case management, information and referrals and elder advocacy. A unique aspect of OAS is the “Wagging Dog Tails” Program, which provides free veterinary appointments, transportation to and from the veterinarian, and dog walking services for senior dog owners.

Catholic Charities makes direct and referral services available to over 1,000 children, ages 0-5 years of age, and to more than 500 parents or expectant parents each year in the underserved north county communities of the Cuyama Valley and Guadalupe. Case management, food distribution and family economic assistance are provided.

Through funds from the Mobile home Emergency Repair Grant program (MERG) and the Emergency Repair Grant program (ERG) administered by the City of Lompoc, Catholic Charities is able to offer as many as 14 grants annually to low or very low-income mobile home and home owners to help them make emergency repairs. The agency also provides rental assistance through FEMA and administers the Santa Barbara County Mental Health contract for emergency housing for the mentally ill.


English as a Second Language (ESL) classes help individuals to develop proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing English. Classes are offered for adults, who wish to improve their language skills, through Santa Barbara Community Services.		In Santa Barbara County, families may spend as much as 70-80% of their income for housing. Supplemental food, provided by Catholic Charities, helps families use their cash resources to pay for rent, utilities, medicine and other necessities.		The Community Services Program, while aimed at alleviating immediate needs, provides bilingual case management services in six locations so that clients can become more stable and work toward eventual self-sufficiency.

Santa Barbara Region


The Catholic Charities’ Oxnard Community Services Center provides essential services to clients struggling to become self-sufficient.		Services offered throughout Ventura County include basic needs assistance such as emergency food, shelter and clothing. Case management is also provided to address the long-term needs of clients.

Ventura County

The Ventura County area of the Santa Barbara Region operates four permanent Community Services Centers, strategically located to be accessible to people throughout the County. Each center is staffed with a client resource coordinator who provides: advocacy; case management; money management counseling; financial assistance for utilities, rent, emergency lodging, transportation, and medications; and in-kind assistance.

Catholic Charities’ Homeless Prevention Program in Ventura County teaches homeless, and those at-risk of becoming homeless, skills to deal with their situation more effectively through several sessions involving thorough evaluation, counseling, the development of a housing eviction prevention plan, and referral services. The program also offers advocacy and negotiation with landlords and prospective landlords toward a fair and equitable resolution of housing issues.

248 households received either first month rental assistance or eviction prevention help. 382 utility bills were paid and 25 families were provided with emergency lodging.

10,000 lunches are prepared and distributed to clients at the Oxnard Community Center annually. Food pantries throughout Ventura County distributed enough food to feed 47,500 people.

The Older Adult Services and Intervention System (OASIS) in Ventura County provides a variety of material and case management services to home-bound, frail elderly in that area. Total clients served numbered more than 2,000, with 25 to 30 new client assessments per month. More than 100 volunteers provided friendly visits and telephone reassurance.

Frank Donovan, OASIS Coordinator, passed away on July 7, 2003. He was a dedicated employee of Catholic Charities for 18 years. Before his death, Frank fulfilled a long-time desire to be ordained a Deacon and serve the Church to his fullest capacity. He was ordained to the Order of Deacon on June 7th at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. He will be greatly missed by the staff, volunteers, and clients of Catholic Charities.


The late Deacon Frank Donovan, OASIS coordinator, is shown here on the right, visiting a homebound senior.		The Moorpark Community Center has moved to a temporary 4,000 sq. foot mobile office on a parcel of land leased from the City of Moorpark. This lot will eventually house a permanent 8,000 square foot Catholic Charities’ Community Service Center building.		The majority who seek assistance at Catholic Charities’ Ventura Community Services Center live below the federal poverty level and cannot provide for basic needs. The center provides emergency help and on-going support to supplement limited resources.

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