 |
| Press Release (10 August 2004) |
BUILDING STRONG FAMILIES IN EAST LOS ANGELES Catholic Charities' Building Strong Families (Formando Familias Fuertes) program, offered at Brownson House Community Center in East Los Angeles, supports families and helps them develop stronger foundations so they may better cope with and seek solutions to their problems. The program provides case management, resources and referrals coordination, life skills training, food distribution and emergency assistance. Of 11,778 people who received assistance in the fiscal year 2003-2004, 73.7% had no income and up to 95% had annual individual income below $13,000. One third of all clients were children (0-17 years old) and about one tenth of the whole population were the elderly, age 60 and over. When "Brenda," came to Catholic Charities' Brownson House, she was suffering from depression and was dealing with numerous personal problems. The Building Strong Families program helped her find counseling and provided her with life skills training to properly handle the day-to-day issues she was facing. According to Brenda's husband, the program has helped his wife tremendously. He states, "Every time my wife comes to the program, she leaves with hope that things will be better." So far, over sixty families like "Brenda's" have benefited from the program. Established in 1919, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc. has been one of the largest social service agencies in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, serving millions of people during eighty five years of its existence. In more than 50 offices and community centers, the agency provided about 1,160,000 services to over 220,000 different individuals during the past fiscal year (July 1, 2003-June 30, 2004). People in need come to Catholic Charities for emergency food and shelter, low-cost before-and-after-school childcare, immigration and refugee assistance, psychological services, computer and jobs skills training, and other supportive services. Poverty doesn't discriminate. How could Catholic Charities? All services are available to all residents of the three counties, regardless of their race, ethnicity, income, gender or religious belief.  For more information about Building Strong Families and a site visit to Brownson House, please contact Mary Romero, Director of the San Gabriel Region of Catholic Charities, at maryromero1@sbcglobal.net or phone: (323) 266-3269. |