Catholic Charities Receives $502,745 Grant ahead of National Employ Older Workers Week

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Receives $502,745 Grant Ahead of National Employ Older Workers Week Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. awards grant directed to assist in workforce training for older jobseekers 55+ 

Fort Wayne (Sept. 1, 2021) – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (CCFWSB) announced today that it was awarded a $502,745 grant from the Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. (Center). Almost 90 percent of this grant – originally from the U.S. Department of Labor – will provide temporary employment to no less than 94 low-income older Indianians living in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Wabash and Whitley Counties. These older adults will participate in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) a cornerstone program of the Older Americans Act. SCSEP is celebrating its 56th anniversary this year and Catholic Charities is shining a light on the program ahead of National Employ Older Workers Week, September 19-25. 

SCSEP, the only federal job training program targeted exclusively to low-income older jobseekers, promotes personal dignity and self-sufficiency through work. Its temporary part-time community service jobs provide a hand-up, not a hand-out for older, unemployed low-income Americans. The Senior Community Service Employment Program allows eligible persons to participate for up to four years, but the average tenure nationally is 19 months with the experience and training they receive leading them to permanent employment. 

As the joint largest U.S. Department of Labor National Grantee of SCSEP, the Center works through a network of local partners delivering various career training programs for eligible 55-plus-year-old workers in 34 states. To date, the Center has placed over 90,000 older workers into permanent employment through the SCSEP program. 

“Our long-term, local partners are a key to the strength of the Center and provide the systems to train older Americans into strategic advantage for employers and the Country.” Said Gary A. Officer, Center for Workforce Inclusion President and CEO. “We are very pleased to continue our support of CCFWSB for the 18th consecutive year.  

“SCSEP made a difference for many during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CCFWSB Interim CEO, Dan Florin. 

SCSEP participants were able to keep training from home. Continuing to receive funds prevented participants from becoming homeless.  And now, the participants are safely returning to their training sites where they help local community, faith-based, and public agencies carry out their mission, such as the American Red Cross, Fort Wayne Urban League, and Whitley County Council on Aging. 

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