Telethon seeks emergency funds

People in Troy turn to Sister Claudette Harris, CSJ, when they need help.

To help her, people in the Albany Diocese should turn to WXXA, channel 23, on Dec. 12, noon-6 p.m., for the second annual Catholic Charities Telethon.

Sister Claudette is director of Catholic Charities' Sunnyside Center, a daycare, after-school and summer program for children. While most of the center's programs are geared toward youngsters, adults know it's a place they can go when they are facing a crisis.

"They know we're a Catholic Charities agency," she said, "and Catholic Charities doesn't turn people away."

Serving needy

Recently, for example, a mother fleeing an abusive relationship came to Sister Claudette for help. The woman had moved to Troy because that's where her mother lived. A place to stay was one of the only things the woman had going for her.

"She had nothing," Sister Claudette said. "They had no food, and the kids had no clothes."

Food, clothes and baby supplies are some of the common needs people turn to Sunnyside Center for. The agency has been fortunate in that they receive in-kind services that help them meet some of those needs. Other needs are met through the program's emergency assistance fund.

Plea for help

It can be difficult to find funds to support emergency assistance, said Sister Maureen Joyce, RSM, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Albany Diocese.

To help meet emergency assistance needs in the 14 counties of the Diocese, the telethon will be on the air Dec. 12. Organizers hope to raise $100,000 during the six-hour broadcast. Last year, $52,000 was raised.

The money is needed: During the 1997-98 fiscal year, Catholic Charities spent $150,000 on emergency assistance. In the last four months alone, the agency has spent $70,000 on emergency assistance.

Service plus

Sister Maureen described the emergency assistance offered by Catholic Charities' agencies as an "added service" that is provided without additional staff.

For example, said Linda Bonesteel, executive director of Catholic Charities of Albany and Rensselaer Counties, members of her staff take turns handling emergency assistance calls. "We all do emergency assistance," she said. "We rotate it one week a month."

But Catholic Charities agencies do more than just provide a hand-out. "We do case management, so [those in need] don't stay in crisis mode," Sister Maureen explained.

Through case management, the agency is able to see how the person got to a crisis point and creates a plan to prevent the crisis from occurring again.

As an example, Ms. Bonesteel related the story of a woman who had worked two jobs and never received any kind of public assistance. But when she was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatments, she couldn't work her second job. When she fell behind in paying her bills, her electricity was turned off. Catholic Charities negotiated with the power company. Today, the woman is in remission and is again making ends meet.

Increase in needs

Meanwhile, requests for emergency assistance have become more frequent for Sister Claudette. Sunnyside Center is located in an area in Troy with a 90 percent poverty rate. The neighborhood children are at the greatest risk of drug use in the city of Troy, she said.

"Requests are definitely increasing for us," Sister Claudette said. "In the past year, they have gone up 30 percent."

She attributes the jump to the state's welfare-to-work program. Ms. Bonesteel agrees that welfare-to-work has affected the number of emergency assistance requests her agency receives.

"They are up over the past year," she said. "More people are on welfare-to-work."

Some of the people who come to Ms. Bonesteel for assistance are struggling because in taking a minimum wage job, they have lost other public assistance benefits while adding other costs, such as daycare, to their budget. Others are struggling because they can find only part-time employment with no benefits.

Working poor

Many of those in need of emergency assistance are employed. "Most of the people receiving assistance are the working poor," who can't live on their salaries, said Sister Maureen.

"They come at the end of the month, after they used their money for an emergency like a car repair, a medical expense, or funeral expenses," she said.

Asking for assistance is not easy. "It's very difficult to ask for help," Ms. Bonesteel said. "It is embarrassing. They feel ashamed. People are marginalized. They don't like to ask for assistance."