Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc. - Newsletter, November 2003

A Quarterly Newsletter from Catholic Charities - November 2003

Looking for a Special Guitar

In October 1975, Loc Nguyen, then the newly appointed Director of Immigration and Refugee Services for Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, attended Operation Closing, a party for closing down Vietnamese refugee camps. It was the end of a very lonely and miserable period for Mr. Nguyen, who had left his homeland during the Vietnam war.
When Mr. Nguyen departed from camp, he left behind a very special guitar. The guitar had been borrowed from a United States Marine, named Jack, while he was a refugee at Camp 8 in the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. By the time Mr. Nguyen attempted to return the guitar to Jack, the Marine had been transferred to another base. Recently, Mr. Nguyen was contacted by the Oakland Museum of California, which is searching for the guitar. The museum would like to add the guitar to an exhibit that will document the history of Vietnamese refugees.
While living at Camp 8, Loc Nguyen used the guitar to write “Farewell Saigon”, a song about the pain of leaving his country and the hope of one day returning. The song became the soul and national experience of Vietnamese refugees around the world. It was banned in Socialist Vietnam, but political prisoners secretly listened to the song that was smuggled by family members into the reeducation camps. Mr. Nguyen recently remarked, “I feel sorry that I was not able to keep that guitar as a souvenir of my life.”

Santa Barbara Food Pantry Expands

At the newly renovated food pantry in Santa Barbara, clients enjoy shopping in an environment similar to a market, rather than in a commodity-based food pantry.

Catholic Charities is the largest distributor of food to the poor in Santa Barbara County. The Santa Barbara Region operates food pantries in six locations and will dispense over one million pounds of food this year. Such a vital service allows clients to shop with dignity for nutritious groceries to supplement their food supplies and help them save their resources for other pressing expenses. Dedicated volunteers assist clients at all Santa Barbara Region facilities.
One of the busiest sites in Santa Barbara County is currently undergoing renovation. The Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry in downtown Santa Barbara recently tripled in size. Through the generosity of the Santa Barbara Foundation, new flooring and shelving, as well as a large refrigerated produce display, were installed. In addition, the annual Candlelight Concert Benefit at the Santa Barbara Mission raised a total of $5,000 for Catholic Charities’ food program. Funds were used to purchase a second produce display and several thousand pounds of food, as well as to pay for equipment repairs. These additions have helped meet the increased demand for Catholic Charities’ services in south Santa Barbara County.

Professional Counseling Services Available
to Catholic Charities’ Clients

Catholic Psychological Services has two main goals. The first is to promote the mental health of individuals, families and children. The second is to provide access to a range of professional counseling services for individuals, especially for those who have limited or no financial resources. Counseling and support is also offered to many Archdiocesan schools and parishes, especially in time of crisis.
Catholic Charities’ psychological services are available at seven sites across Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. During the last fiscal year, over 12,600 clients received: counseling for families and individuals; pre-marital counseling; group therapy; crisis and domestic violence counseling; psychological assessment; school and parish outreach; mental health presentations; and information and referral. Services address client issues such as behavior and school problems, child abuse, parent/child conflict, depression, family violence, stress and bereavement. The program also serves two specialized populations, victims of crime and perpetrators of domestic violence.
Dr. Jodi Collins was recently named Clinical Coordinator at Catholic Charities’ Psychological Services in Pico Rivera. She is responsible for facilitating domestic violence group treatment for male batterers and can be reached at (562) 949-2496.

Catholic Charities Rates Four Stars from Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator, a website resource, was founded in 2001 to provide unbiased ratings of charities in the United States. One of the 2,500 charities rated by Charity Navigator, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc. has earned four stars, the highest number possible, and a score of 69.07 out of a potential score of 70. Based on the agency’s financial health, Catholic Charities exceeds industry standards and outperforms most human service charities of its kind.
Among the criteria: the efficiency of day-to-day operations; the amount of money spent to secure donations; the revenues dedicated to program service; and the cost of administration and management.

For a direct link to the full report, visit http://www.CatholicCharitiesLA.org/news.html.

Each year, families come to Catholic Charities’ Community Centers for help during the Christmas holidays. Typical costs of Catholic Charities’ assistance to families in need are:

$25.00
for a bag of groceries for a family of 4;
$50.00
for a night’s emergency lodging;

$75.00
for a holiday basket;
$100.00
for utilities for a month; and
$500.00
for a security deposit for an affordable apartment.

Catholic Charities is dependent on private contributions to support the social service programs.