COVID Impact Stories

Since the beginning of this pandemic, Catholic Charities has helped over 1,000 people be able to:

• Keep their electricity

• Pay their rent or mortgage

• Obtain bus passes to work

• Feed their children

• Have clean diapers

• Receive counseling services 

We continue to see an influx in the amount of families needing assistance, but our staff is continuing to spread hope where it has been lost.

We wanted to take a moment to share a few stories from families you have saved:

Meet Derek.

Derek, a single father of three, was working full-time supporting his family when the pandemic hit. In March, Derek became furloughed and the prospect of covering future expenses seemed to be impossible.  His unemployment insurance was held up due to processing and he was panicked trying to create a plan on how to cover future expenses, take care of his children and protect the overall health of his family.  Derek began to feel hopeless facing all of these obstacles and not sure where to turn for assistance.  In the midst of this hopelessness, Derek found a flyer from Catholic Charities listing COVID-19 support services available to help families during these trying times. With just one phone call, Derek connected with a case manager who reviewed community resources and also provided Derek with much needed financial support. The financial assistance Catholic Charities was able to provide included paying a full month’s rent and a food voucher, which aided in alleviating the food insecurity Derek and his children were facing. This assistance provided Derek with hope for the future and a plan moving forward that provided security for the family.

Meet Trisha & Mark.

A young couple with two children had called for assistance with their utility bills. Trisha worked at a school, but had been out of work since March. She is at high risk for COVID-19 and has not been able to look for work elsewhere. Mark was recently laid off after the virus has spread through his office.  Even before the loss of Trisha’s income it was a struggle to pay the bills, but now, they were unsure of how they would pay the bills while waiting to see if they would be granted unemployment and food stamps.  In the meantime, their utilities bills were behind, the rent was coming due and they didn’t have the funds to pay any of it.  After a phone intake with Catholic Charities, the couple was invited to come to our food pantry the next afternoon. There they received groceries and completed an application for financial assistance to cover their expenses.  When they were told their utilities and the rent would be paid, their case manager could hear the sigh of relief in the mother’s voice, as she said “You are going to make me cry.”  As Trisha left, their case manager handed her a gift card to Kroger. Trisha said, “You’re going to make me cry twice today. Thank you all so much, you don’t know what this means to us.”  

Meet John.

John and his young son had recently moved back to the area, but COVID struck before John could find employment.  After exhausting his savings, he had already missed paying a month’s rent and rent was due again.  Understandably, John was deeply concerned about providing a stable home for himself and his young son.  After working through his Township’s Trustees Office, John was referred to Catholic Charities for assistance with the balance of his rent.  He went through our intake and application process, includin